


The Odd Job

by cosmicrecyclingbin



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Dark Comedy, Dubious Consent, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Trans!kurapika, alternate universe- youtuber, dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:09:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 47,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28966620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicrecyclingbin/pseuds/cosmicrecyclingbin
Summary: Amateur ghost hunter, Leorio Paladiknight, seems to put himself in quite a lot of spiritual predicaments. This leaves him at the mercy of a surly occult shop owner who might have more than just a few tricks up his sleeve.
Relationships: Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight, Kuroro Lucifer | Chrollo Lucifer/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 98
Kudos: 148





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again my friends, and welcome to my Next Big Project.
> 
> As always, I’m writing for my own enjoyment, and this story is 10000% written for myself, so I understand it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
> 
> This is an urban-fantasy modern witchy supernatural shit AU.
> 
> Something very very very important that I want to make VERY clear. I am not attempting to offend anyone who practices the Craft, nor am I trying to appropriate things from any particular culture or religion. Everything I write about in this story is based on my own actual real life experiences with the paranormal, and my own (admittedly limited) knowledge and use of witchcraft. A lot of stuff here will be stuff I find in research, and some will just be absolutely made up.
> 
> Now that that is cleared up, next order of business.
> 
> Kurapika, in this fic, is a trans man. Why? Because I said so. Won’t really be relevant until later but he has had top surgery.
> 
> Okay that’s it for now! ILU!!!

Leorio grew up knowing he was a little bit different.

He could feel people’s emotions as if they were his own, could take on their pain as if he was the one injured. He’d cry even just hearing someone sniffle across the room.

This ability could be overwhelming, but it  _ also  _ helped him stay out of trouble. He was a professional bullshit detector, and reading the mood meant he always knew what to say to get out of sticky situations.

The other part of his abilities was a bit more… concerning.

The whole seeing dead people thing? Really hit or miss.

Leorio preferred  _ not  _ being able to see them. Or he did, growing up.

He couldn’t  _ always  _ see them, mind you, normally he could merely sense their energy and intentions.

His  _ Nana  _ called it ‘the gift’, and told him when he was a boy that every generation of their family had at least  _ one  _ person born with it.

As a teen he resented these abilities. He didn’t understand them and didn’t  _ want  _ to understand them.

And then, as a struggling, unhappy college student with a penchant for watching way too much Youtube, he realized he could make some serious money by hunting ghosts and recording it.

_ So he did.  _

  
  


And that’s how he ended up in his current predicament.

  
  


“Leorio, I swear to God if you don’t do something about this damn ghost, I’m going to lose my shit.”

Zepile ducked as a book flew from the shelf on the other side of the room straight towards his head. Leorio sat on the couch, scrolling on his phone with an ankle crossed over his knee as if nothing was happening.

“I know, I know,” Leorio sighed, “This guy’s stubborn though. He really doesn’t wanna move on. I’ve tried everything I know how to do and my research is coming up flat.”

Zepile sat next to him and grabbed one of the pillows from behind himself to hold over his head like a helmet.

“Maybe you should get some professional help.”

“Like an exorcist?” Leorio sat his phone down and crossed his arms over his chest, “Do you have any clue how long that would take?”

“Not an  _ exorcist.  _ Not yet at least. There’s an occult shop downtown. Maybe there’s something in there that could help? I’ve heard people say that the shop owner is an actual witch, they could probably help.”

“Pfft. Real witch? Nah, I don’t think so.”

Zepile arched a brow.

“You’re a psychic ghost hunter with a YouTube channel all about you  _ hunting ghosts.  _ But magic is where you draw the line?”

“I’m not saying  _ witchcraft itself  _ is bullshit. Anyone can use rocks and herbs to cleanse energy. Doesn’t make you a magical creature,” Leorio rolled his eyes and the wooden coaster from the coffee table thwacked him on the forehead.

Zepile laughed heartily as Leorio cursed and rubbed the injured area.

“Oh fuck it, fine I’ll go talk to the shop owner. Anything to get this guy off my ass,” a shiver went down his back as he heard breathy laughter in his ear.

Zepile scrunched up his nose, “Next time you bring something home with you, I’m kicking  _ both  _ of you out.”

Leorio sighed, “Fine, yea I get it.”

  
  


Having an unearthly attachment was like sharing space in your brain. You’re never truly alone, all of your private thoughts are no longer private, and merely using the bathroom feels like a group activity.

Leorio  _ hated it. _

It also prevented him from getting any real rest, so the dark circles around his eyes were especially pronounced.

Leorio had been second guessing going to the occult shop until the asshole ghost had decided to rip about twenty-six pages from his very expensive rented calculus textbook.

After having a yelling match in an empty room he had promptly left his shared apartment and made his way downtown.

  
  


Something Leorio had learned about his empath abilities as a teenager was that it was  _ really hard  _ to turn it off. This was especially true in  _ crowds _ , which is why any time he walked down town, Leorio would have his earbuds in and music up full blast. He didn’t really understand why, but it helped block out all the energy and kept him from getting  _ the overload. _

The overload was what happened if there were just  _ too  _ many people around for too long. It was like a spiritual hangover, and it was incredibly unpleasant. Leorio, who was very much a people person, sometimes had to avoid the normal college fun stuff to prevent being bedridden for several days. He absolutely despised this aspect of his abilities.

  
  


Leorio took his earbuds out when he reached the shop. It was in the older part of town, the storefront blending in with the older architecture of the surrounding buildings. It was two stories tall, like most of the shops on this street, and looking up at the top floor window he could see a cat staring back at him, tail flicking.

_ The Odd Job, huh? _

Leorio read the sign and shook his head before sighing and going in.

The shop smelled of musky incense and was lit dimly. As Leorio looked around, he realized that the store was set up more like a high-fashion boutique than a trippy little hippie-den occult shop. 

Gems and crystals were on display behind glass. The dark wood shelves were full of books, some looking positively  _ ancient. _

Plants hung from the ceiling  _ everywhere  _ and Leorio absently wondered how they could even grow with no real light.

There were jewelry stands hosting amulets of all shapes and sizes, and on each one there was a sign that said  _ Do Not Touch. _

Leorio walked closer to one of these stands out of impulse. He was drawn to one necklace in particular, a golden ankh with some absolutely wild engravings. He put his shades on top of his head and leaned closer to inspect it.

The closer he got, however, the more he wanted to reach out and grab it. And so he did, or he  _ would have  _ if the sound of a clearing throat hadn’t snapped him out of his trance.

He whipped around toward the front of the room, where a man was sitting on the counter, legs and arms crossed, looking incredibly unimpressed.

He was all soft angles and delicate features, but nothing else about him was soft or delicate. 

His style was caught somewhere between hot librarian and grunge antisocial. He wore a black turtleneck that was long-sleeved but cropped, showing just the barest hint of pale stomach above the top of the tightest grey jeans that Leorio had ever seen. 

He had a pair of Doc Martens on his feet and a layered necklace of crystals around his neck. Leorio’s eyes were drawn to the dark plum color of the fingernails tapping against his arm impatiently.

_ I swear there was no one there ten seconds ago. _

“There are six signs that say no touching. Are you really as illiterate as you look?”

Leorio scoffed, the back of his neck getting warm.

“Not a very nice way to talk to potential customers, does your boss know you treat people like that?” He stood up to his full height and shoved his hands in his pockets. He walked a bit closer, looking into dark, stormy grey eyes.

The stranger arched a brow, a smirk kicking up the corner of his mouth.

“My boss? I’m afraid I don’t have one of those.”

Leorio blinked for a moment before rolling his eyes.

“You are the owner then? Wow, how do you stay in business with so much attitude?”

“My usual patrons aren’t nearly as daft as you seem to be.”

Leorio scrunched up his nose, ready to retort, when he realized something.

_ I can’t feel this guy’s emotions at all. I can’t get a read on his energy. _

It was as if the person in front of him wasn’t even  _ there.  _ It made him uneasy.

There  _ was  _ another energy, but it wasn’t coming from the shopkeeper, and it  _ was  _ quickly approaching.

All of a sudden there was a low meowing noise and a brown and white cat jumped onto the counter next to the owner. It sat and stared at Leorio, as if waiting for him to continue the argument.

“I- you know what, I’ll just take my business elsewhere.”

He turned around to head for the door.

“Good luck, I’m the only occult shop in the city, and the only person qualified to help you with your little dead guy issue within a hundred-mile radius.”

Leorio froze and heard the spirit laugh in his head. He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face before turning back around.

“How do you-“

“I just know,” the blonde shrugged.

“Fine, okay,  _ how do I get rid of it?” _

The shop owner pulled up his sleeve and looked at his watch, “Oh wow, would you look at that? I closed two minutes ago.”

He hopped down from the counter and Leorio swore he heard the cat snickering as the man urged him towards the exit.

“Hey, that’s-  _ What the fuck.” _

Leorio stepped back outside and turned to watch the smug face of the shopkeep as he flipped the open sign to closed and locked the door.

  
  


Leorio sighed and marched back home with his unwanted companion still laughing in the back of his head. 

He vowed to be back the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leorio is a psychic empath, just like me! His abilities and experiences with them is stuff that I deal with on the regular!!! It sucks!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio gets 'unblocked'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhh tw for child death??? I guess??? He's already dead but

Leorio woke up the next morning from a fitful sleep. 

He attempted to make a cup of coffee but his Keurig mysteriously shorted out right as he was putting the off-brand coffee pod in and gave him a little zap.

_ Alright asshole, very nice. _

He turned around to put the pod back and when he turned back around all the cabinets were open.

“I am not impressed by this. Get better tricks.”

He could feel the energy turn from playful to ticked off and sighed.

“Alright, let’s go. I cannot  _ wait  _ to get rid of you.”

He grabbed his keys and went to open the door, but as soon as he unlocked it, the lock slammed back into place.

“Okay dude, not cool.”

He unlocked it again only for the same thing to happen.

He huffed and leaned over to stare at the lock intently. He quickly unlocked it and snatched the door open. He closed and locked it behind himself and could feel the irritated energy surround him as he made his way downtown.

  
  


Leorio was bright and early.  _ Very bright and early.  _ He was waiting at the door when the shopkeep came down and unlocked it, flipping the sign over. He made eye contact with Leorio and scowled, opening the door.

“Oh it’s  _ you.” _

“Yea it’s  _ me.  _ You’re lucky I’m back, you could have lost a willing customer, you know.”

The man rolled his eyes and stepped aside to let him in.

“Oh spare me. What is it exactly that you’re looking for? Tell me and I’ll get it so you can  _ leave.” _

Leorio huffed and balled up his fists.

“Look I just need to know how to get this pesky poltergeist off my back.”

“He’s not a poltergeist,” the blonde sighed, inspecting one of the hanging planters, “Poltergeists are completely different from human spirits.”

Leorio’s patience was wearing thin already and it was barely nine in the morning.

“Are you gonna help me or not?”

“This is an occultist supply store, not the advice column of a newspaper.”

He turned and they locked eyes, and for merely a second he swore that grey had turned red. He shrugged it off as sleep deprivation.

_ I still can’t feel anything from him, how is that possible? _

He focused as best he could with a corner of his brain occupied, reaching out with his own energy to try and find the shop owner’s, but he became distracted by someone else’s energy.

_ “Mrmmppph.” _

Leorio looked down and watched the brown and white cat from the previous day weave around his ankles.

He stooped and let the cat sniff his hand before petting his fluffy head. The cat purred and nuzzled into his hand.

" _ Really, Pairo?" _ Leorio looked up to see the shopkeep with his hands on his hips, leveling an unamused gaze at the feline.

The cat looked back over his shoulder at his master, tail flicking. The cat’s energy was amused.

_ Wait a minute. _

This cat was weird. His energy was too big and too…  _ specific…  _ animal energy was smaller, compact, and  _ simple. _

He brushed off the thought and stood back up.

"I'll pay you for the advice."

The blonde looked up at him and sighed. He shook his head and motioned for Leorio to follow him.

He sat himself behind the counter and leaned forward, propping his chin up on his hand. Leorio stepped up and the cat hopped up on the counter. 

"Alright  _ Mr. Paladiknight, _ let's take care of your little friend, hm?"

"How do you know my name?" Leorio narrowed his eyes.

The shop owner shook his head and stood up straight. 

"You have one of the largest paranormal channels on YouTube, of  _ course  _ I know who you are. Is the attachment sapping your brain cells, or are you always this stupid?"

Leorio pursed his lips, his neck and ears turning bright red. He rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Oh. Right.. uh.."

There was the sound of a snort but Leorio was looking at the shopkeep directly, and the noise hadn't come from him. A chill went up Leorio’s spine.

"Okay, first off, this ghost is stubborn, but not malicious. He just thinks you're fun to mess with. If he wanted to hurt you, he would have already."

"He  _ throws  _ shit at me, what do you mean  _ not malicious?!" _

"He  _ could  _ throw  _ knives  _ at you, but he hasn't, has he?"

Leorio crossed his arms, pouting like a petulant child.

"Well  _ no." _

All of a sudden he felt and heard what seemed to be someone blowing a raspberry in his ear. He swiped at the empty air as laughter filled the room.

The shopkeeper, who was acting like this was just another day at the office, seemed to follow something with his eyes.

"Have you tried having a conversation with him?"

"We've had  _ plenty  _ of conversations, mostly one-sided."

The blonde crossed his arms and seemed to nod to himself before turning back to Leorio.

"He says you don't let him talk, all you do is yell."

Leorio held out his hands, floundering.

"I-  _ What?! What is he, five?!" _

The shopkeep rolled his eyes.

"He would like me to inform you that he is fourteen."

" _ Fourteen?!?!?!" _

Leorio had encountered younger spirits before, of course, but it always shocked him and made him feel sad to know that even the young and innocent couldn't escape death when it came for them.

"And what does he mean, I don't let him talk? The asshole is laughing in my ear all the time."

The shopkeep planted his hands on the counter and leaned forward, into Leorio’s space. The intensity of his gaze made the ghost hunter feel open and exposed. It felt like he was being analyzed from the inside out.

"Ah, I see," he said, standing back up, "Ironically, you have a mental block. You don't want to hear him talk. You also don't want to see him. I'm willing to bet this is something you've done to protect yourself, subconsciously."

Leorio tilted his head, scratching at his jaw. 

"I mean, I guess that makes sense."

"I could help you get rid of that."

Leorio arched a brow, "Now why the hell would I want to do that? You just said it was for protection."

The blonde chuckled, "It's a lot easier to communicate with the departed when you can actually hear them. You have the ability, you might as well use it."

_ I suppose he has a point. _

"Fine," he sighed, "What do I need to do?"

The shopkeep and his cat seemed to look at each other for a moment, as if they were having a conversation. 

_ Maybe they are. This guy is either crazy gifted or just crazy.  _

"Follow me," he stepped into the back and Leorio came around the counter to trail him up the steps.

He unlocked the door that led to the second floor, and ushered Leorio into his living quarters. He noted that the cat had not followed.

The flat was surprisingly bright and airy, considering the dark brooding thing the shopkeeper had going on. 

It was a studio affair, cozy and quaint, with a small kitchen and just enough room for one bed and one couch.

There were even more plants everywhere up here, as well as jars with liquids and herbs and all sorts of things. He noticed candles and crystals took up space in every corner of the room. 

The smell of incense was strongest here, and Leorio saw the burner in the middle of the coffee table. The blonde sat in the middle of the floor in front of it. He looked up at Leorio expectantly, arching a brow.

He hesitated only a moment more before sinking down onto the plush rug across from him. He could feel the energy of the ghost kid settle on his right.

"Alright. I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath."

Leorio sighed but did as he was told, trying to relax. The incense helped that quite a bit.

He felt a finger press against the spot between his eyes, and when the blonde spoke the words were slow and smooth.

"This spot right here is your third eye Chakra. Focus your energy right here."

Leorio took another deep breath as the finger pulled away, and visualized his own energy being concentrated at that one point.

"Good, now hold out your hands."

Leorio sat his hands, palm up, on his knees. The shopkeep laid his own hands on top and  _ that  _ is when Leorio was finally able to feel his energy.

It was warm and tingled pleasantly as it passed into Leorio’s hands and up his arms.

"Now, in your mind, visualize turning a key in a door to unlock it."

Leorio huffed and opened his eyes.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

The blonde scowled, "Do you want my help or not?!"

Leorio grumbled, closing his eyes again. It took a minute for him to get back in the zone, but as soon as he was able to direct his energy into unlocking the door it was like he was drowning.

His head felt like it was full of liquid, and when he opened his eyes, everything was white. He subconsciously squeezed the shopkeepers hands until it passed and he could see and hear again.

"God, he's dramatic isn't he?"

Leorio’s head whipped to his right, where a boy sat, hovering just a couple of inches off the floor. His arms were propped up behind his head of fluffy while hair, and his expression was that of boredom. It looked like ripples of electricity danced on his skin.

Also, he was transparent. Leorio could see straight through him to the TV behind.

Leorio blinked before scrambling backwards.

_ "Holy shit!" _

"Oh come on, you knew I was here the whole time."

"Yeah but I've never  _ seen  _ a ghost this close up before. Not like this."

Leorio scooted back up and tentatively reached out his hand.

"If you put your hand through me, I swear to-"

Leorio swiped at him, his hand turning frigid as it passed through. The boy turned absolutely irate and grabbed onto Leorio’s wrist with his incorporeal hands. Lightning shot up his arm and he yelped as he received a pretty severe shock. He fell backwards, head spinning.

"He warned you," the shopkeeper sighed, standing up, "Alright, you can talk to each other and work things out for yourselves now. That'll be two hundred jenny."

Leorio slowly got to his feet, shaking out his hand, "Two hundred jenny? For what?! You didn't do anything?!"

The man and the ghost boy exchanged a look and the latter rolled his eyes.

"I gave you my expertise and spiritual assistance," he held out his hand and wiggled his fingers, "Pay. Up."

"Pfft, yeah. Right."

Leorio brushed past him, heading for the stairs. The ghost followed him.

"Uh, I think it would be a good idea to pay this guy."

"What? Why?"

The man in question stomped down the stairs after him, looking absolutely  _ vicious.  _ Leorio turned to face him and the ghost kid actually hid behind him.

"Mr. Paladiknight, I strongly suggest you not cross me."

Leorio crossed his arms.

"Or what? Gonna cast a spell on me? Hocus pocus,  _ mumbo jumbo." _

He watched the owner's eyes narrow and got a full body chill. He backed up slowly before turning around and almost tripping over the cat. He cursed and stepped over him, heading towards the exit.

"You'll be back," the shop owner called, and something about his tone made Leorio’s gut churn with anxiety. He didn't so much as answer before stepping outside.

He turned around to watch the ghost boy come out with him and that's when he noticed that the shop's sign still said closed.

_ I… I know I saw him change that sign… I know I did… _

**_You're really dumb._ **

Leorio scowled, walking quickly back to his apartment to drink away the rest of the day and pretend he didn't have a dead teenager living in his head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hex Games

"Look man, I don't care if you can talk to him now, the ghost kid has to go. He shorted out my phone charger this morning."

"I did _not."_

Leorio sighed, looking up from the laptop perched on his knee, where he was editing footage.

"His _name_ is Killua. And he says it wasn't him."

"Oh yeah right, come on you said electricity was his thing."

Zepile huffed and Leorio snickered as the young spirit floated around the oblivious man and made faces at him.

"Killua why _is_ electricity your thing?"

"S'how I died, obviously," he held up a finger and Leorio watched sparks trip off of it.

"Oh. Huh…"

"Uh, _hello?"_ Zepile crossed his arms, "You know I can't hear him, right? What about my charger?"

"It wasn't him. I'd be able to tell if he was lying."

His roommate's shoulders sagged.

"Fine. Alright, I guess I'm going out to _buy a new_ one."

Leorio looked back down at his laptop and his brows furrowed as he realized the file he had been working on was gone. He tried to pull it back up but… it didn't exist.

_What the fuck?!_

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me. Where'd it go?"

Killua’s head floated in next to his shoulder, "I think you better go back to that shop and apologize to the owner."

"Why would I do that?"

Killua rolled his eyes.

"Call it a hunch."

Leorio pursed his lips and closed his laptop, sitting it aside. 

He stood with a stretch and checked the time on his phone.

"Well since that video no longer exists, I guess I should record something else… I have a couple hours until my date."

" _You_ have a date?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, ya brat?" Leorio scowled.

"Nothing, nothing."

"That's what I thought."

  
  


After recording some footage for a video, Leorio went to turn off his computer, and it was like a surge of energy shot through the room. There were sparks and Leorio quickly scooted his chair back away from his desk.

He cursed as he watched smoke rise from his setup. 

" **_Killua!"_ **

The boy manifested next to him and inspected the damage.

"Jeez, what happened?"

"This wasn't you?!"

Killua crossed his arms.

"Come on, I may be dead but I know expensive stuff when I see it. I wouldn't sink _this_ low."

Leorio narrowed his eyes but could find no lies within the spirit.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"What a freak accident.."

"You keep telling yourself that."

He ignored Killua’s remark and checked the time. He had just enough time before his date to freshen up.

Leorio had been seeing Pyon for about two months now. A fellow youtuber, they had hit it off quite well. It wasn't incredibly serious yet, but it was getting there.

He came out of the shower, dressed himself, sprayed on just a bit too much cologne, and met Killua’s spirit in the living room.

"Okay, so here's the deal kid. You gotta stay here."

"Yea that's cool, I don't wanna go on your gross date anyway."

Leorio nodded and was about to leave when his phone started buzzing in his pocket.

He arched his brow as he brought it to his face and saw Pyon's name staring back at him. He swiped his thumb over the screen and put it up to his ear.

"Hey baby, I was just about to head out, do you-"

_"Leorio, I don't know how to say this, but I'm about to board a plane."_

"Oh," Leorio deflated, "For like a YouTube thing?"

_"Uh. No. I don't know how to explain it but something told me I needed to book a one-way ticket to the Netherlands and just_ **_go_ ** _."_

"Oh.. Oh _wow…_ that's really-"

_"Sudden. I know, I'm sorry but I've just got to go."_

Leorio sighed and sat down on the couch, and tried to sound upbeat.

"Well, that's ok! Long-distance could work."

_"Leorio."_

The ghost hunter sighed even deeper.

"Yea. Okay I get it.'

_"We can stay friends, though."_

"Yea… of course… I hope you find what you're looking for in the Netherlands. Have a safe trip. Let me know when you land."

_"I will. Good night."_

"Night."

Leorio sat back and tossed his phone aside, letting out a deep breath. He ran his hands through his hair and shrugged off his blazer. He loosened his tie and kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

"Well. That fucking sucks."

"Bummer."

Leorio jumped as Killua appeared right next to him.

"Jesus, kid, you gotta give me more warning when you plan on just popping up like that."

"Gonna have a heart attack, _old man?_ "

Leorio narrowed his eyes at the spirit's cheeky smirk.

"Yes. I'm going to have a heart attack and die and come back to haunt _you_."

Killua laughed and the force of it propelled him through the ceiling. 

Leorio shook his head and leaned on the arm of the couch.

"The Netherlands, huh?"

_Talk about out of nowhere…._

It stung, it really did. His ego was a bit bruised, but he would survive.

He just couldn't shake how _weird_ it was.

  
  


All week weird occurrences kept happening.

On Thursday morning, Leorio woke to his bathroom flooding. On Friday his favorite pair of sneakers caught fire.

Saturday was his breaking point. 

All week he'd had the _worst_ nightmares, so he was tired and so incredibly irritable that even Killua left him alone.

He went about his day, constantly feeling like something was going to jump out at him as he ordered a new computer and sound setup.

Around noon his exhaustion hit _hard._ He laid down in his bed, content to nap the rest of the day away.

He was just drifting to sleep when he heard the sound of the doorbell. Zepile was out, so he huffed and went to get the door himself.

He opened the door but there was no one there.

Leorio sighed and closed the door. He went back to bed, got comfy, and began to doze.

And the doorbell rang.

Leorio bitched and grumbled as he extricated himself from his blankets once more.

He trudged to the door and flung it open.

But there was _still no one there._

Leorio concentrated really hard, but couldn't sense any energy other than Killua’s.

He slammed the door and locked it behind himself before returning to bed.

Like clockwork, another ring of the bell and Leorio’s sore eyes snapped open, his jaw clenching.

"Let me save you a trip, there’s no one there," Killua sighed, manifesting in the air next to the bed.

Leorio sat up, rubbing his face with his hands.

"What the hell is going on?"

"You've been _hexed,_ dummy."

Leorio scoffed.

"I'm totally right and you know it. All this weird stuff only started happening after you pissed off the witch."

"He's not a witch. And he did not hex me."

He went to stand up from the bed but his blanket seemed to grow a mind of its own and it wrapped around his legs like a snake, tripping him and sending him crashing to the floor.

Leorio groaned, slowly getting to his feet.

"Okay. Okay you know what? I am still not convinced, but I'm gonna go apologize _just in case."_

  
  


Leorio marched himself right back down to The Odd Job and was extremely upset to find that the shop was _closed._

"Of all the fucking days…"

He cupped his hands by his eyes and peered in through the window. He thought he saw someone moving inside, so he began knocking on the door, obnoxiously. 

"Come on, I know you're in there!"

**_People are staring, you weirdo._ **

_I'm the weirdo, says the literal ghost._

**_Shut up here comes somebody._ **

The blonde head of the shopkeeper appeared at the window and the gaze he shot at Leorio made him gulp. He unlocked the door and poked his head out.

"What is it, can't you see I'm closed?"

"I uh. Came to apologize, for the other day."

The shopkeeper looked surprised and pleased. 

"Very well," he moved back and let Leorio in, "I said you'd be back."

Leorio followed him to the counter, where the blonde promptly sat himself on the glass and crossed his legs.

His long, spandex-covered legs.

Leorio shook that thought from his head and pulled his checkbook out of his pocket along with a pen. He used his mouth to uncap the pen and spoke with it still between his lips.

"M'kay, how much to make it stop?"

Mirth twinkled in the blonde’s eyes 

"I'm not quite sure what you mean, Mr. Paladiknight."

Leorio took the cap from his mouth as he grimaced.

"Don't play with me. Take back your little curse and I'll give you _six hundred_ jenny."

The man stifled a chuckle behind his hand and leaned forward. Leorio was momentarily distracted as the shopkeep's oversized grey and black flannel drooped off his shoulder. 

"Curse? Oh but Mr. Paladiknight, isn't that just _hocus pocus, mumbo jumbo?"_

Leorio turned red and he spluttered. 

"Oh this is too funny."

Both of them turned to look at Killua, who had sat himself on top of a bookshelf.

"I see that you still have your friend with you," the blonde smirked, "He grew on you, didn't he?"

Leorio huffed, "Yea sure, whatever. Can we please make a deal here? This has been the worst week of my life."

The shopkeeper sighed and nodded, standing up.

"Alright. One thousand jenny."

_"One_ **_thousand?!"_ **

"Do you want it to stop or not?"

Leorio cursed and grumbled under his breath as he sat the checkbook on the counter next to the blonde and leaned down to fill one out.

He huffed and tore the check out, shoving it in the man’s direction. 

The shopkeep held it up to the dim light, as if to check its authenticity. He nodded to himself with a smirk and leaned across the counter to slip the check into the slot on the cash register. Leorio didn't realize he was staring at the man’s backside until he stood back up straight. 

He quickly averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck.

_I've only been single for like three days and I'm already acting like a horndog._

"You know I can hear your thoughts right?" Killua made a gagging noise and Leorio flushed.

"Get out of my head and that won't be a problem."

The shopkeep arched a brow.

"Is there something else I can help you with, or can I go back to enjoying my day off?"

"Wait, is that it? Curse, gone?"

The man rolled his eyes.

"It was a _hex,_ not a curse. Curses are generational."

Leorio waved a hand dismissively.

"Whatever, is it over?"

"Not quite. I have to go destroy the hex totem, then it will be dissolved."

Leorio was about to ask what the _hell_ that meant, when the cat appeared and jumped up on the counter. 

Leorio grinned and reached into his pocket. 

"Hey there kitty, I brought a peace offering for you too."

He sat a tiny cat treat in front of the cat's paws. He saw the owner turn and stifle a laugh, shoulders shaking.

The energy around the cat was muddled and practically unreadable, but he took and ate the treat without protest.

Leorio waited until he'd eaten the whole thing before reaching out to scratch behind his ears.

"Alright, _thank you very muc_ h, Mr. Paladiknight, but I'm a very busy man. If you and your friend could-"

"We are _not_ friends," Killua turned up his nose and Leorio scowled. 

"Then why do you keep hanging around?"

Killua crossed his arms and avoided meeting his eyes.

_"Anyway,_ have a good day Mr. Paladiknight."

"Leorio’s fine, uh-"

_"Kurapika."_

Leorio looked up and around, looking for the source of the unknown voice. _Kurapika_ glared at his cat.

"Well. Uh thanks, for canceling the curse-"

"Hex."

" _Whatever._ I'll uh… head out now."

"Okay."

Leorio walked backwards towards the exit.

"I'll uh. I'll see you around. Or not."

Kurapika crossed his arms and arched a brow.

"Mhm."

"Should we warn him about the-" Leorio tripped over a potted plant on the ground and Killua busted into laughter as he tumbled to the floor.

He groaned, covering his eyes with one hand as he tried to assess if he'd injured anything other than his pride. When he looked back up, the shopkeep was leaning over him. He tucked a lock of hair behind his ear and held out his hand.

Leorio sighed and accepted his hand up, and he felt the warm tingly feeling of Kurapika’s energy shoot through him where their hands were connected.

"Sorry, I should probably get to work on dismantling that hex," he certainly didn't _look_ sorry. He looked extremely pleased with himself, in fact.

Leorio brushed himself off.

"Come on Killua," he called over his shoulder as he stepped up to the door.

The ghost floated down and threw a questioning gaze at the cat before disappearing altogether. 

Kurapika held the door open for him and he stepped outside. He turned to say goodbye, but the door was already shut and locked, with the owner nowhere in sight.

Leorio massaged his temples as he walked home to _finally_ get some sleep. 

  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey Google, how do I get the dead teenager out of my head?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is your blanket trigger warning for the rest of the fic. There is going to be some kinda edgy stuff later on down the road, please read at your own discretion.

“So I know you died of some kinda electric shock, but what actually happened?”

Leorio sat cross cross on his bed, tossing a basketball back and forth with his incorporeal housemate. Killua couldn’t actually  _ catch it,  _ obviously, but he could concentrate his energy enough to easily stop the ball in mid-air and send it back to Leorio.

“You can’t just  _ ask  _ people how they died, idiot.”

Killua rolled his eyes.

“Ah, yea… hm.. Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude. Was just curious.”

Killua sighed and stopped the ball as it sailed back to him. He put his hands in the space on either side of it and made it spin, his eyes getting a faraway look in them as he stared at it.

“It’s cool. I died a couple years ago. My sister accidentally grabbed onto an electric fence and I died prying her off of it.”

Leorio’s heart sank and he rubbed sheepishly at the back of his head.

“That’s… wow.”

“What, did you think I croaked doing something fun?”

“Well…  _ no…” _

_ Oh god, I feel like such an ass. _

“You are one.”

Leorio scowled.

“Okay we really gotta talk about the whole you reading my mind, thing.”

Killua let the ball drop to the floor.

“To be perfectly honest, I’d love to not know what you’re thinking at any given point, but you keep shoving your thoughts in my head, you freak.”

“I do  _ not.” _

Killua leveled him with an unimpressed gazed.

_ Do I? _

“Yea, you do.”

Leorio groaned and put his head in his hands.

“How the fuck do I stop it?”

“How should I know? I’m  _ dead,  _ not psychic.”

Leorio flopped backwards and stared up at the ceiling.

“You know….” Killua started, spinning in circles as he sat in midair like a bowl of spaghetti-o’s in the microwave, “That witch guy could probably tell you.”

“Feh!” Leorio shot back up, “Yea, and then charge me another thousand jenny to boot.”

“You only paid him that much because you were an asshole about it.”

Leorio huffed, his ears burning.

_ Okay maybe I was kind of an asshole. _

“ _ Kind of?” _

Leorio picked up his pillow and threw it straight through the spirit.

“Oof, can you  _ not?!’ _

The electricity around Killua crackled dangerously. Leorio held up his hands in defense.

“Sorry, sorry, that was uncalled for. Sometimes I forget you aren’t  _ solid  _ even though I can see right through you.”

“Fair enough.”

Killua waved his hand and sent the pillow straight back into Leorio’s face.

“I deserve that,” Leorio stood up from the bed, rubbing his nose. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Go?” Killua floated up to him, “Go where?”

“To visit  _ ‘the witch’  _ and fix my brain, I guess.”

Killua rolled his eyes at the air quotes.

“You literally suffered a hex, and you don’t think he’s the real deal?”

Leorio crosses his arms, grabbing his keys off of his nightstand.

“I’ll admit, if last week was just a very odd series of coincidences… well… anyway.”

“You’re so  _ weird.” _

“Shut up or I’ll break out the salt.”

Killua hissed like a cat and Leorio laughed so hard it gave him a headache.

  
  
  


Upon his fourth visit to The Odd Job, Leorio actually found patrons inside.

He skirted along the edge of the showroom floor, subtly listening in.

Kurapika was explaining something about one of the various tarot decks he had on display to a short woman with bright pink hair and her tall blonde counterpart.

Leorio was fascinated by the bright, animated way the shopkeep spoke. His facial features and body language were open and welcoming, completely different from the manner in which he’d treated Leorio.

He huffed and crossed his arms, glaring daggers at one of the displays of crystals.

**_Can you please chill out, your aggressive energy is making me feel all gross._ **

_ Ugh. Sorry. _

It seemed Kurapika’s sweet talking had won him a sale and Leorio watched out of the corner of his eye as he led them up to the cash register.

“ _ Mooowwww.” _

Leorio looked down at his feet and found Pairo the cat blinking up at him.

_ Is that cat smirking at me? _

**_Sure looks like it._ **

Leorio squatted and reached out to scratch behind his ears.

“Hey kitty-kitty, I brought you another treat.”

He pulled said treat out of his pocket and the cat sniffed it before slowly eating it.

The cat began to purr and nuzzled his head against Leorio’s knee.

_ This cat is so fucking weird. _

**_Yea, I’ll say._ **

There was a ding and Leorio looked up as the customers left the shop.

“What is it now, Leorio?” The shopkeep sighed, hunching over the counter, “Are you actually going to buy something today, or are you here to waste my time?”

Leorio stood and brushed some of the cat hair off his jeans.

“Sorry to bug you, or whatever, but I don’t know anyone else who could really help with this predicament.”

“Wow, could you sound like more of a tool?”

Leorio jumped, a hand flying to his chest as Killua appeared right next to him.

_ “Killua I swear to God.’ _

There was a snort that broke into full blown laughter and they both turned their heads to see Kurapika doubled over, rubbing away the tears that came to his eyes. The sound made something pleasant and warm settle in Leorio’s chest and he felt heat rush into his cheeks.

_Oh_ _fuck. Oh no._

Killua shot him a questioning gaze but Leorio ignored him, walking up to the counter.

“So,” Kurapika fanned himself with his hand, “So what is the predicament? I have better things to do than play ghostly guidance counselor.”

Leorio turned and gestured to the now empty store, “Like  _ what?” _

Kurapika rolled his eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

“Get on with the issue.”

"Well-"

"He can't stop shoving his thoughts into my head."

Killua floated by, hands in his incorporeal pockets.

"Huh… I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you are probably an empath?"

"Yea…." Leorio leaned against the counter, "what does that have to do with it?"

The blonde gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Wow, for someone with a channel like yours, you sure don't know much about the occult."

Leorio flushed and grumbled..

“Look, I don’t really dive into that sort of thing on my channel…”

“I know.”

Leorio blinked and tilted his head. As if realizing what he said, Kurapika flushed and averted his gaze.

“ _ Anyway.  _ Yes, I can help you. It’s not something you can just fix in a day, though. It takes practice and effort.”

Leorio sighed, “How much is this going to cost me?”

Kurapika smirked and Killua gave an  _ Ugh. _

“Hmm…” the shopkeep looked at the lounging spirit, “Hey, how good is your physical manipulation?”

“Huh? Uh, really good, why?” Killua sat up and waved his hand, lifting Leorio’s phone from his pocket.

_ “Hey!”  _ Leorio snatched it back out of mid-air.

“Very good. I could use a hand in the shop. Lifting, dusting, and the like. Nothing too strenuous.”

“Why should I agree to that?” Killua crossed his arms.

Kurapika shrugged, “Gives you some sense of purpose. You can say  _ no  _ of course.”

Leorio watched the exchange curiously.

“Eh. Sure, whatever.”

Leorio looked around and gestured with his hands.

“Wait a damn minute, I had to pay one thousand jenny but  _ he  _ gets to dust some shelves?”

Kurapika turned and leveled him with a glare so sharp it made him lean back.

“I could still charge you.”

“Please  _ don’t.” _

The cat jumped onto the counter and looked straight at the shop owner. Kurapika glared at him in return.

Leorio and Killua exchanged confused looks.

Kurapika sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"When are you available?"

"Oh, uh, well your little hex destroyed my computer and all my recording equipment, so I can't really do much channel wise until my new setup comes in. So I'm pretty open right now."

The blonde had the nerve to smirk.

"Good. Be here tomorrow night. We'll get started after I close shop for the day."

"And we can't start today  _ because?" _

"Because I have things to do. People to see."

The cat let out a snort and the shopkeep shot him a glare.

"People to see, huh?" Leorio sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets, "Hot date with a vampire?"

Kurapika flushed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"There's no such thing as  _ vampires." _

"Says the so-called witch."

The shopkeep arched a brow, the corner of his mouth tilting upward.

"I take it you don't believe the rumors?"

Leorio shook his head.

"Nope. I'll admit, the hex was pretty wild, but I bet anyone could do that if they tried hard enough. The human mind is fascinating."

"I don't understand you," Killua sighed, "You have all these abilities but can't bring yourself to believe in magic?"

"Oh what do  _ you  _ know?"

They stuck their tongues out at one another and Kurapika and his cat watched on in amusement.

"Well, whatever you believe is your business," Kurapika inspected his darkly painted nails, "I really couldn't care less."

Leorio turned and narrowed his eyes, trying to assess whether his sarcasm was in jest. But he couldn't feel anything.

"Whatever… I'll be here tomorrow."

"Okay."

The brunette sighed and shook his head.

"Come on Killua."

He turned towards the door as the spirit disappeared. 

As he approached it, it suddenly opened on it's own.

_ Was that you? _

**_Nope._ **

Leorio turned back around and looked at Kurapika who was leaning on the counter with his chin propped up on his hand. He had a smirk on his face and his eyes were trained directly on Leorio.

**_Did his eyes just change colors?_ **

_ Uh. _

Leorio stuck a hand up and gave an awkward little wave before slipping through the open door and having it slam behind him.

**_He's 1000000% a witch._ **

_ Shut up. _

  
  
  


Leorio had goosebumps all the way home.

  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio becomes a believer.

“People are having a riot because of your lack of content,” Zepile said as he scrolled through Leorio’s social media tags.

“I can’t help that my new gear isn’t here yet,” he sighed, “I made a vlog about it. You’d think they’d be a bit more understanding.”

“At any rate, you better have some good video ideas lined up for when the stuff gets here.”

Leorio scratched at his stubbly jaw.

“Well I have a few ideas.”

“What?  _ My ghost does my makeup challenge _ ?”

Leorio watched as Killua sent a pillow flying at Zepile’s head. He ducked just in time.

“Rude little brat,” Zepile huffed.

Leorio kicked his feet up on the coffee table and moved right along, ignoring the exchange. A textbook rested in his lap and a notebook and pen sat on top of that.

“I think I’m going to dive into the more occult side of paranormal. It’s all pretty fascinating stuff.”

“You sure you don’t just think the witch guy at the shop is hot and you’re hyperfixating on this to get closer to him?”

Leorio’s ears heated and he crossed his arms.

“You’re my social media manager, not my therapist.”

“You’re not denying it.”

“He has a point,” Killua shrugged as he floated in the air, upside down.

Leorio huffed.

“Look, my guy, you just got dumped. It’s pretty normal for you to go chasing after someone else right away. You never could stay single in high school.”

“Jeez, make me sound like a slut, why don’t you?”

Zepile rolled his eyes.

“You’re not a slut, Leo, you just have a lot of love to give and can’t contain it.”

“At  _ any  _ rate, I may find the so-called witch hot but I don’t think getting involved with him would be the best idea.”

Zepile snorted, tapping away at his phone, “Afraid?”

“Pft , what  _ no,”  _ His ears and neck turned red, “Afraid of  _ what?” _

“The dude literally destroyed your entire computer set up. Everything.  _ He sent your girlfriend to Guam.” _

“The  _ Netherlands.” _

“Whatever. Point is, he could probably ruin your life with the twitch of his nose. Admit it, you’re scared.”

Leorio scoffed, waving his hand dismissively.

_ Okay maybe I’m a little scared. _

**_Haha._ **

_ Shut up Killua. _

  
  
  


Leorio strode into the Odd Job about ten minutes before it closed and found someone other than Kurapika behind the counter, serving customers.

He was about the same height as Kurapika and he had chestnut hair and oddly familiar-looking brown eyes. He moved with an odd sort of grace, his facial features expressive as he talked.

Leorio wandered around as he waited, and the man at the register noticed him.

“Oh hey Leorio! Pika’s upstairs, you can go on up!”

Leorio blinked and arched a brow.

_ Do I know this guy? _

**_He seems… familiar…_ **

**“** Uh, alright. Thanks.”

Leorio focused on the man as he went past him, into the back. The energy around him was also extremely familiar. He hummed to himself in thought as he ascended the staircase.

He knocked on the door and it opened immediately, though Kurapika was on the other side of the room in his little kitchen, stirring something in a pot. Whatever it was smelled strongly of flowers and herbs. The blonde looked up at him, sitting the large wooden spoon in his hand down.

“Leorio.”

“Kurapika.”

The shopkeep turned and acknowledged Killua as he manifested above the couch.

“Hello, Killua,” He smiled at the ghost and Leorio scowled.

“Sup.”

Leorio flopped down on the sofa next to Killua.

“Nope, on the floor,” Kurapika wiped his hands on a kitchen towel and pointed to the rug, “Stuff like this requires concentration and centering of self. If you sit on the sofa you’ll fall asleep.”

The ghost hunter grumbled and stood back up, taking off his jacket and slinging it over the back of the couch. He walked around the coffee table and sat down as Kurapika took up the place in front of him.

The blonde turned to the ghost, “If you’d still be up for helping out, the storage in the back room downstairs needs to be reorganized.”

Killua sighed and rolled his eyes but sank through the couch and floor, “Whatever.”

“Why does he listen to  _ you?” _ Leorio frowned, crossing his arms.

Kurapika shrugged, “I’ve always been good with the dead.”

Leorio rolled his eyes.

“Alright, whatever. Now how do I fix my brain?”

The blonde chuckled.

“There’s nothing wrong with your brain. You just haven’t been properly trained on how your abilities work.”

“Hm, alright, I guess that makes sense. Are you an empath too?”

Kurapika shook his head.

“Not… exactly. I can see and feel energy but I can’t tell emotions from it. But I  _ can  _ project my thoughts, like you do.”

“Really?”

“Yes, though I prefer not to use that ability. It’s a bit invasive, if you ask me.”

Kurapika pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and flexed his fingers.

“Something that has been totally bugging me out…” Leorio started.

“Hm?” Kurapika tilted his head.

“I can’t read your energy at all. It’s like you don’t even exist. The only time I felt anything from you was when you helped me unblock my chakra.”

Kurapika smirked, “Ah yes. That’s magic.”

“Oh bull  _ shit.” _

Kurapika arched a brow.

“Are you still a nonbeliever?”

“Look, I admit, there’s a lot of weird stuff out there. I believe in bigfoot. I swear I’ve seen UFO’s. And I  _ do  _ believe there is something to “witchcraft” as a general practice, but I don’t think there could be humans born with such strong abilities that are just…”

Leorio trailed off as he watched the grey of Kurapika’s eyes bleed red. The blonde sat perfectly still and something heavy settled in the air, thick and palpable.

“Uh-“

All of a sudden Kurapika raised one hand and made a twirling motion with his finger, and  _ chaos  _ ensued.

All the cabinet doors opened and the contents flew out. All the covers raised from the bed in the corner and flew around, mingling with papers that had sat on the coffee table. All these things cycloned around the room in a whirlwind.

Leorio quite nearly shit himself.

His mouth hung open and he watched in horrified fascination.

And then, just as quickly, everything settled back into its place as if nothing had happened at all.

Leorio looked back down at Kurapika with a dumbfounded look. The blonde’s smirk had stretched across his face and he looked quite satisfied with himself as he smoothed down his windblown hair.

Leorio took a second to take stock in what just happened.

“I-“

Kurapika arched a brow.

“I have no explanation for that.”

The blonde chuckled and shook his head.

“It’s okay, it’s in human nature not to believe in things before you see them.”

“Yea… Whoa… Wow you are…  _ terrifying.” _

Kurapika preened a bit, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“So… a witch.. wow. I-“

“Do you need to take a walk or something?”

“No, sorry, I just discovered one of the world’s biggest truths and am having a hard time grasping it.”

“Well have your existential crisis later, we have work to do. Now as I was saying. You can’t feel my energy because  _ I don’t want you too.  _ It's how I protect myself. Now what you’ve just now, is that I filled this space with my energy and directed it on what to do. Witches have the ability to use our own energy as if it was a tool. That’s where the magic comes from.”

Leorio nodded, his brow furrowing, “So that’s why I only felt it come from your hands the other day.”

“Exactly. You’ll notice that I do that a lot. I use my hands as a conduit to concentrate my energy.”

“Oh. Okay yea I get it. I mean, I get it as well as I think I could, considering,” Leorio rubbed at the back of his neck, “I have a question though. When you do…  _ that…  _ Why the hell do your eyes change? It’s the freakiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Kurapika’s cheeks flushed and he averted his gaze, “Oh. That’s a family trait. I come from a pretty old coven. Most modern witches aren’t  _ blood  _ witches anymore. You weren’t wrong when you said that you don’t need to be a witch to practice the craft. However, you  _ do  _ need to have some witch blood in your veins to do the  _ real  _ stuff.”

“Real stuff?”

“That’s a conversation for another day. Are we all clear now? Magic is real, I’m a witch. Moving along.”

Leorio took a deep breath.

“Yea, fine. Alright.”

“So. Empaths have the ability to intake and decipher energy and emotions. But you also have the ability to  _ export  _ energy and emotions as well. These are typically things you don’t start out having control over.”

Kurapika flicked his wrist and one of the kitchen cabinet doors opened once more, bringing out two mugs. The mugs floated over to the big pot on the stove and a ladle picked itself up and filled the mugs with the strong-smelling liquid. Once full, the mugs floated over to them, never once spilling a drop. Kurapika took his and gingerly sipped it.

Leorio took it and turned his nose up, scrutinizing the contents.

“It’s just  _ tea.  _ Relax.”

Leorio was still wary but took a sip anyway, to be polite.

_ Wow this.. is truly awful. _

He tried to school his facial expression but the look on the witch’s face told him he wasn’t doing a very good job.

“As I was saying, you typically aren’t born with the ability to control these aspects of your powers. Are you able to block out outside emotions at all?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve figured out that noise canceling headphones help with that.”

“Very good. That’s called  _ veiling.  _ Usually it takes really aggressive energy to break through that type of protection. You’re effectively cutting off your connection to the outside world.”

Leorio took another sip of the bitter beverage in his hands and grimaced.

“Oh, that’s wild.”

“You can veil with anything, including an actual, you know,  _ veil.  _ It’s all about the intention. If you tell yourself that this thing is going to block stuff out, you manifest that protection into existence.”

“I think I’m getting a migraine,” one hand left his mug and massaged his temple, “This is… a lot.”

“I know. That’s why this is going to take more than just a one off session. I’ve got to get you to completely alter your way of thinking, so that you can take what I’m saying and actually do something with the information.”

Leorio nodded scratching at his chin.

**“** So veiling is no problem. Good. Now to prevent you from projecting onto others, you have to give yourself a kind of… mental stopping point. Kind of like the block we removed from your chakra, but with a specific intention in mind.”

“So how does that work? Do I just,” he gestured vaguely with his free hand, “Manifest it?”

“Well  _ yes,  _ but it’s not that simple. It takes concentration and discipline in large doses. It has to be worked at.”

“Sounds exhausting,” he sighed.

“Oh it certainly is. After a while it gets less taxing, using your energy in that way.”

Leorio took another drink of the tea. It was starting to warm up on him.

“Okay. Well. How do I start?”

Kurapika sat his mug aside and Leorio followed suit.

“Most things like this require deep meditation. Can you sit still for more than ten minutes?”

“What? Of course I can, I’m not a  _ child.” _

Kurapika rolled his eyes and settled himself before reaching out with his hands face up.

“Alright. Take my hands and close your eyes.”

Leorio watched Kurapika’s eyes flutter shut before reaching out to wrap his large hands around the witch’s. His own eyes closed and he felt that warm tingly energy flow through him from where their palms were connected.

“Now relax, drop your shoulders, and breathe in through your nose.”

Leorio did as he was told, filling up his lungs and holding it.

“And out through your mouth sl-“ Leorio’s breath all left him at once and he accidentally spat, “ _ Slowly.” _

“Sorry,” his ears and neck heated, “Let me try that again.”

Kurapika sighed, “Alright. Once again. Breathe.  _ Slowly.” _

Leorio did as he was told and focused on breathing nice and slow. After a few minutes, Kurapika spoke again with a soft low tone.

“Now visualize your thoughts. Visualize them physically hitting a wall and bouncing off.”

Leorio was doing a great job at it until he felt something crawl into his lap.

He jumped and opened his eyes, “Whoa there, kitty.”

Kurapika gave an exasperated sigh, opening his eyes to glare at the cat, who looked very pleased with himself, perched on Leorio’s thigh.

_ “Really, Pairo?” _

Leorio arched a brow, “You talk to him as if he can understand you.”

“He can. Pairo, knock it off.”

“Ugh  _ fine.” _

Leorio’s eyes widened.

_ Did that fucking cat just talk? _

His eyes widened even  _ further  _ when a bright light surrounded the cat and suddenly there was a  _ man  _ in his lap instead. Specifically, the same man who was working the counter earlier.

“H-Holy  _ shit.” _

Pairo laughed and turned to sit sideways, throwing his arms around the man’s neck.

"Hello!"

“You couldn’t have gotten off his lap first?” Kurapika scowled.

Pairo’s eyes twinkled with mischief and he reached up to pat Leorio’s stubbly cheek, never looking away from the blonde, “What, are you jealous?”

Leorio was still too busy trying to figure out what the hell had just happened to notice the way that Kurapika’s face turned red.

“ _ Pairo.” _

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the man… cat? Cat man? Turned and slipped out of Leorio’s lap and onto the floor next to him.

Leorio finally managed to collect himself and he cleared his throat before speaking.

“Um. So, you wanna explain what the fuck just happened, to me or?”

Pairo laughed and Kurapika sighed again.

“Pairo is a shapeshifter. Not much else to explain.”

Leorio suddenly paused as he was about to say something and turned russet from head to toe as he looked at Pairo.

“Oh my god  _ I fed you treats.” _

He heard the sound of Killua’s laughter in the back of his head.

Pairo shrugged, “Yeah, it’s cool, you had good intentions.”

“But you  _ ate them.” _

“I didn’t want to be rude. Plus they really weren’t all that bad.”

Kurapika and Leorio both looked at him as if he’d grown a second head.

“What?”

“You know what,” Leorio stood up and brushed himself off, “I think I’ve had all my brain can take of magic for tonight.”

Pairo pouted and Leorio could just imagine a pair of cat ears pinned down on his head from disappointment. Kurapika stood up and ran a hand through his hair.

“That’s probably for the best. When would you like to come back?”

“Uh… hmm, I don’t really know. I’ve got a couple exams this week I need to focus on. Could I get your number and text you about it later?”

“You already have it.”

Leorio’s brows furrowed and he pulled out his phone. He scrolled down the contact list and there it was. Kurapika (xxx-xxx-xxxx).

_ When did I? _

He looked back up to see the witch avoiding his gaze as he inspected his nails. Pairo, still on the ground, looked between the two with an amused smirk.

“Okay… well. I’ll text you later then. Uh, nice to meet you… Pairo.”

“Pleasure’s all mine. Thanks for the use of your lap.”

Leorio’s ears heated and he chuckled awkwardly. Kurapika kicked the shapeshifter’s knee but he seemed unaffected.

Leorio turned around and walked towards the open door.

“Hey Leorio.”

He turned to look over his shoulder at the witch.

“Yea?”

“Drink more tea, it’s good for you.”

Leorio made a face and shoved his hands in his pockets as he made his way back down stairs to collect Killua and leave.

  
  


**_So the cat was a guy the whole time. Wild._ **

_ I’ll say. _

Leorio hummed to himself as he walked down the street.

**_So are we just going to keep going back there so you can hold hands with the witch until you figure your stuff out?_ **

**_“_ ** We were  _ not  _ holding hands!” 

Leorio looked up and around at the people on the street who’d stopped to watch him yell at nobody.

**_Smooth._ **

_ Shut up. _

He suddenly realized he was rather chilly and he frowned.

_ Shit, I left my jacket on the couch back there. _

**_How do you even function, old man?_ **

_ Shut. It. _

  
  
  


Upon returning home, he found his jacket placed neatly on his bed.

Leorio promptly got a beer and chugged it.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leorio during this whole fic: well mark me down as scared and horny


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Subtlety is not Leorio’s strong suit.

Once Leorio had fully grasped the concept that magic and shapeshifters and everything else presumably in the known universe was real, he carefully compartmentalized that knowledge and put it away in efforts to study for his exams.

Zepile often asked him why he bothered continuing school if he hated it so damn much. He had a substantial following, his ad revenue on YouTube was decent, and he really didn’t _need_ to go to school.

But Leorio continuously reminded him that fame, especially internet fame, was fleeting and unsubstantial. A degree would help him in _the real world_ after that fame flew out the window. 

He was undeclared, just taking the normal boring required credits while he tried to figure out what he wanted to do. He’d thought about a degree in parapsychology, but he didn’t really know if that would really be a smart decision. Professional ghost hunters and demonologists only really got successful from being charismatic and good looking and _lucky_ enough to get a tv deal. Leorio _knew_ he was the first two things, but luck wasn’t really on his side most of the time.

  
  


“How many more exams do you have this week?”

“Just one, thank fuck,” Leorio looked up from the book he was reading to address Zepile as he sat down in the chair across from him.

“Are you even studying right now?” He crossed his arms, squinting his eyes at the cover of the book.

“Oh, uh, nah,” Leorio held the book up and wiggled it in the air, “Taking a break with some light reading.”

“A book on witchcraft, huh?”

“Yup,” Leorio buried his nose back in the book.

“Any particular reason why?”

“I told you, I wanna start talking about this kinda stuff on my channel.”

“But is that _the only reason?”_

Leorio looked up and watched Zepile wiggle his ridiculous eyebrows suggestively.

He sighed and brought the book up to cover his face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right. Mhm. _Anyway,_ the apartment’s been pretty quiet the past couple of days. The ghost kid still here?”

Leorio sighed and closed the book, sitting it aside.

“He’s here sometimes, but hangs out at the shop too.”

“So you and the witch have joint custody of this dead kid?”

Leorio rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you have social media to... I don't know … manage?”

Zepile rubbed his chin, “Well, there’s only so much to be managed when you haven’t posted anything but instagram stories over the last couple of days. You _know-“_

“I am not getting a TikTok.”

“Fine, fine. I would encourage you to at least do more vlogging though. Post more stuff on instagram. _Something.”_

“I can do that.”

  
  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**Hey my exams are done**

**Wanna 🧙👻✨?**

  
  
  


**From: Kurapika**

**Don’t ever send me emojis again.**

**Be here at 5.**

  
  
  


**To Kurapika:**

**:’ <**

  
  
  


The shop was pretty busy when he walked in that afternoon so he stuck to the edge of the room as he watched Pairo and Kurapika take care of their customers. He felt Killua’s energy settle next to him as he lounged back against a shelf.

**_Yo._ **

_Hey, kid. You been behaving?_

**_You’re not my dad._ **

Leorio snorted and crossed his arms.

  
  


It took a little while, but eventually the store cleared out and Leorio was able to wander up to the counter as Kurapika sat himself on it. Pairo sat himself behind it, a mischievous grin on his face.

“Hello Leorio!”

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Well it’s certainly been uneventful without y-“ Kurapika elbowed the shifter, making him wince.

Leorio arched a brow, turning his attention to the blonde as he crossed his legs.

“Ignore him, he has rabies.”

_“I do not have rabies,”_ Pairo hissed, clearly very offended. Kurapika ignored him and moved right along.

“If you’re ready to get started, we-“

The doorbell jingled and they all looked over at it. Coming in was a boy that appeared around Killua’s age. Outside the shop, a group of what seemed to be his friends waited, looking a bit nervous.

The boy however was anything _but,_ he strode in with bubbly confidence, his smile bright and inquisitive.

Kurapika instantly went into customer service mode, standing up from the counter.

“Welcome to Odd Jobs, can I help you find something?”

“Oh, no, I’m sorry,” he laughed as he stepped up to them and turned towards Leorio, “You’re Leorio from _Paladiknight Paranormal,_ aren’t you? I’m a really big fan!”

Leorio’s ears and neck heated and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“That’s me! Thanks for watching!”

“I thought so!” He gestured back to the front of the store where his group of buddies were peering in, incredulously, “I’m Gon! My friends are subscribers too, but they’re all a bit shy.”

Leorio chuckled, “Well that’s alright,” he turned and waved at the teens in the window.

Killua manifested himself in the air and floated around the boy, a curious look on his face. Gon followed his movements.

“Oh wow you’ve got a ghost in here!”

Leorio, Pairo, Kurapika, _and_ Killua were all shocked at the exclamation.

“You can see him?” Pairo asked, tilting his head.

“Oh yea! I can see all kinds of stuff. My Aunt Mito thinks it’s creepy, though, so I try to ignore them at home most of the time,” he turned to Killua who had settled next to him, “But you’re just a kid like me! You’re not creepy at all.”

Killua’s cheeks flushed and he rubbed at the back of his neck as he averted his gaze, “Ah, w-whatever.”

Leorio hummed in thought, “You’re probably a medium, Gon. That’s pretty cool.”

Gon grinned, big and bright.

“I think so too! I’m a bit of an amature ghost hunter myself.”

“Oh _really?”_ Leorio crossed his arms, “You remember the two rules you need to follow when hunting?”

“Never trespass, and never go alone!” Gon nodded.

“Right on!” He gave the kid a high-five and clapped him on the back.

“Do you mind signing something for me?” The boy asked, hopeful.

“Sure, do you have a marker?”

“I do,” Leorio turned to see Kurapika with a soft smile on his face, sharpie already in hand.

“Oh, thanks,” Leorio took it and felt those little tingles of energy hit him where their fingers touched. A corner of his mouth hitched up before he turned back to the teen.

  
  


After signing a couple of things and taking a picture together, Gon went on his merry way and Leorio followed Kurapika upstairs.

  
  


“You were really good with him,” Kurapika said as they settled on the floor together.

“With who? Oh Gon? Yea well,” Leorio scratched at his cheek, his ears turning red, “Between you and me, getting recognized in public is still a little weird and awkward for me.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell. You’re a natural. It’s probably because you’re an empath. Empaths tend to be really good at smooth talking people.”

Leorio smirked, sitting his chin on his palm as his elbow rested on his knee.

“Is that so? Could I even smooth talk a prickly thing like you?”

The witch immediately turned red from head to toe and turned to look at anything but him, clearing his throat and fidgeting with the rings on his fingers as he attempted to look annoyed.

“That. _Remains to be seen.”_

Leorio’s brow shot up and he blinked, opening his mouth to question him further, but Kurapika interrupted him.

“Okay, let’s get started. I’m sure your exams were a source of stress, so it might take a bit longer for you to relax. I think I can help with that.”

“Oof, okay sure, yea..”

Kurapika snapped his fingers and the lights dimmed. The stereo started playing something soft and jazzy.

_Okay, this is a bit weird…_

Kurapika made another motion with his hand and Leorio looked over his head to watch things move around in the kitchen.

“Cream or sugar?”

“Uh,” Leorio blinked, “Both, I guess.””

Kurapika nodded, humming.

A few minutes later and Leorio had a cup of tea in his hands. He sniffed at it, once again wary.

“It’s chamomile. It’ll help you relax.”

He scowled but took a sip anyway.

“Oh, that’s actually not that bad.”

Kurapika gave a very small, very pleased smile.

“Good. Now have you had time to process everything I told you last time you were here?”

“Yes,” he nodded, “And I did some research too, to help me really grasp everything.”

“Oh,” Kurapika looked genuinely surprised. Leorio gave a cheeky grin, “Well good. That helps a great deal.”

Leorio took another big swig of his tea and set it aside.

“I’m ready when you are.”

He settled his hands face up and watched as Kurapika’s own slid on to them. Leorio watched in fascination as little ripples of energy passed from the witch into himself, in his mind’s eye.

He looked up, expecting to find Kurapika’s eyes closed, but caught him staring at him with an unidentifiable look on his face. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes.

“Alright. Settle your thoughts and concentrate on deep breathing. Please don’t spit on me this time."

_Oh god, I’m never going to live that down._

He took a few deep, slow breaths and dropped his shoulders.

“Good. Now take your thoughts and visualize them hitting that wall.”

Leorio’s head filled with the image of tennis balls being smacked against a brick wall. He must have held that image for at least twenty minutes, nothing other than the stereo in the corner making noise.

When Kurapika spoke again, it was soft so as not to break his concentration.

“Okay, I’m going to temporarily lower my mental shield to see if your thoughts are still projecting.”

_Wait, what?!_

Leorio began to panic, trying very hard to both _keep up the blockade_ and not think anything incriminating.

_Don’t think of anything stupid. Don’t think of anything embarrassing. Fuck. Shit._

Kurapika snorted and Leorio dropped his hands, covering his face with an ashamed groan.

Kurapika reached out and patted his knee.

“It’s okay, I really put you on the spot there. But the good news is, before you started overthinking it, I didn’t hear anything.”

Leorio sighed and sat back.

“So I did… decent?”

“Decent,” he nodded.

“Yeesh. I really need to figure this out before I start projecting my dirty laundry into the heads of every psychic in town.”

Kurapika smirked, tilting his head. Leorio’s eyes were drawn to the flicker of light that emanated from his earring.

“Oh? And what kind of dirty laundry are you so scared of projecting?”

Leorio spluttered, his neck and ears flushing.

“Not- nothing. You know. Uh-“

_Don’t think don’t think don’t think. Don’t think about how pretty he is. Don’t think about how pretty he is. Don’t think- Fuck_

Kurapika simply stared at him, nonchalant.

_Maybe he didn’t hear that._

**_I did._ **

_Shut. Up. Killua._

Kurapika arched a brow.

“Um. Let’s… Let’s continue?” Leorio rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Alright. Try again."

Kurapika took his hands and they both closed their eyes.

Leorio relaxed and concentrated.

Words turned into pictures. The pictures hit the wall and bounced off.

It was another long stretch of time before Kurapika spoke up again.

"I haven't heard anything since we started again. Good job."

"What, really?!" Leorio opened his eyes, an excited grin on his face.

"Yes."

Leorio’s smile widened and he squeezed Kurapika’s hands. Kurapika squeezed back and Leorio felt the energy flowing into his hands intensify.

"Wow. Well.." he slowly, reluctantly let go of the witch’s hands, "I didn't really expect to be able to do that so soon."

"You've not mastered it by any means," Kurapika sat back, rubbing his palms together, "But you could always practice it at home with Killua."

"Yeah… I could."

Leorio looked down at his hands, still feeling the residual sensation from Kurapika’s energy.

"I've probably taken up way too much of your time anyway."

There was a beat of silence before Leorio looked up. Kurapika was looking down, picking at the loose threads on the rug.

Leorio swallowed, mustering what little confidence he seemed to be capable of at the moment.

"You know… I've really been wanting to dive further into this type of stuff for my channel. I've been reading like crazy, but it would be a huge help to have a mentor."

Kurapika looked up, arching an inquisitive brow, "You want my help?"

He crossed his arms and nodded.

" Well okay, I could teach you some things."

Leorio leaned forward, assessing the furrow in the blonde’s brow, "Are you sure you're up for it? I don't want to bug ya."

Kurapika chuckled and shook his head.

"No no, it's fine. You were just so reluctant to ask for my help _initially…_ "

The brunette sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about all that. I was a total jerk about everything. You're not so bad. For a witch."

Kurapika rolled his eyes.

"But I am still kinda peeved about the hex."

"Out of curiosity, what happened?"

"You don't know?" Leorio blinked, "Really?"

"Not at all. Once I cast it, it's up to the universe what happens," Kurapika pulled all of his hair up off his neck and held it there for a few seconds before letting it flop back down on his head. 

Leorio noted with interest that he had a small tattoo right below his ear. 

He wondered absently if he had any more.

"Leorio?"

"Hm?" He snapped out of that train of thought, "Sorry, what?"

Kurapika leveled him with an unamused gaze.

"The hex. What did it do?"

The ghost hunter gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Well it ruined about four thousand dollars worth of recording equipment. Flooded my bathroom. Annoyed the shit out of me."

"Oh. Wow. Sorry about the equipment."

"But not the other stuff?" He shook his head, "Its whatever. Things can be replaced. The only thing that really still upsets me is my girlfriend suddenly moving to Europe out of nowhere."

Kurapika gasped audibly and a look of shock came over him

"No, surely you're joking."

Leorio leaned back on his arms, staring up at the ceiling.

"Wish I was. She literally called me right before she boarded the plane. We were supposed to have a dinner date that night."

When Leorio looked back down at him, Kurapika looked quite remorseful.

"Oh… I'm really sorry about that. Honestly, I wasn't aware my hex would even be capable of such a thing."

"Dont sweat it, we weren't serious or anything. And like you said, you didn't know it would happen."

"I still feel awful. Let me make it up to you."

The earnest look on the witch’s face did something funny to Leorio’s chest.

"You don't have to make anything up to me, you're already helping me with my research."

"I insist," the blonde’s cheeks filled with color, "In my family we always used food as an apology. I'm not a very good cook, but Pairo makes a delicious tuna casserole-"

"Are you volunteering Pairo’s cooking in efforts to clear _your_ conscience?" Leorio pursed his lips, arching a brow.

"I-well.. Hmm," Kurapika clicked his tongue, "I see your point. Fine. But I still want to rectify the situation. What do you want? I have a whole store full of things you can choose from."

"You," he replied without thinking and immediately turned red, "I mean a _date_ with you. To uh. Make up for the date I never had because of your hex."

Kurapika floundered for a moment before looking away.

"I- I'm not really a _date_ sort of person."

"Oh shut the fuck up," both of their heads snapped to the doorway, where Pairo leaned, "You can pick Pika up at seven on Tuesday."

_"Pairo."_ Kurapika looked like he was about to pop a vessel in his forehead. The man smirked.

Leorio watched the exchange in fascination before nodding to himself and standing up. Kurapika followed. 

"Well alright. Tuesday at seven it is."

"But I-" Pairo sent Kurapika a sharp glare, "Alright. Tuesday at seven I suppose."

Leorio grinned.

"Great. I'll see you then." He turned and walked back towards the door, nodding to Pairo as he passed through the doorway and descended the staircase. 

  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio lends a hand.

Leorio truly didn’t expect to hear from Kurapika again until their date on Tuesday. So when he received a text while in the middle of one of his online lectures he was extremely surprised. 

And immediately confused.

  
  


**From: Kurapika**

**What. The fuck. Did you do.**

  
  


He squinted at the screen, perplexed.

  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**????**

  
  


**From: Kurapika**

**[[img]]**

  
  


The picture Kurapika sent was taken from the doorway to the back of the shop and showed that the entirety of The Odd Job was at full capacity. Most of the patrons were younger, and a considerable amount were wearing _Paladiknight Paranormal_ merchandise.

  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**Uh I didn’t do anything????? Hold on let me check instagram rn**

  
  
  


Leorio opened instagram and went straight to his tag.

Low and behold, Gon- the kid from the other day- had posted the picture they’d taken together and location tagged it to Kurapika’s shop. It had tons of likes and quite a few comments. As it turned out, Gon had a pretty decent following himself.

_Well that explains that._

He sent the link to the post to Kurapika.

  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**I think this is the reason.**

  
  


**From: Kurapika**

**We are absolutely swamped.**

**Get down here.**

**Now.**

  
  
  


Leorio snorted and looked up at the screen of his laptop, where his professor was still droning on. He sighed and exited the window, sitting the laptop aside and standing with a stretch.

  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**Give me like 20 mins**

  
  
  
  


Walking into the shop was like walking into a subway car at rush hour in York New. It was packed like a can of sardines.

Pairo was a champ, clearly extremely in his element, easily able to handle multiple conversations with customers at once.

Kurapika was…

Well he appeared nothing short of _frazzled._

He was clearly trying to maintain his customer service persona, but was obviously horribly uncomfortable in crowds. 

Leorio strode through the group and people quickly took notice of him, calling out to him and tripping over themselves for an autograph. Leorio had prepared himself mentally this time, and was ready for the ordeal. He stopped a few times around the room and gave high-fives and signed things, before heading up to the counter where the flustered owner was running the register.

He stepped behind the counter without hesitation and waited till the current transaction was done before grabbing Kurapika by the elbow and pulling him aside. He spoke low, so the customers wouldn’t hear.

“Hey, how about you go take a break? I’ll take the register for you.”

“What?” Kurapika shook his head, “No, I-“

“I _insist._ You look like you’re about to lose it. Besides, this is partially my fault, so I owe you.”

The witch sighed, crossing his arms and nodding.

“Fine. I trust you know how the register works?”

“I worked retail and fast food in high school, I got it.”

He watched Kurapika look at the full room apprehensively before nodding again and turning around to head up the stairs.

Leorio put on his most charming smile and got to work.

  
  


Around fifteen minutes later Kurapika returned, looking refreshed, and took to the floor to help Pairo talk to the customers about the products.

By the time the last customers left, it was well past closing and all three of them were _exhausted._

Leorio slumped over the counter while Kurapika counted the till. Pairo sat on the ground with his back to a shelf.

“Well… shit.”

Leorio and Pairo’s heads snapped up to look at Kurapika.

“What’s up Pika?”

Kurapika looked up, hands full of cash.

“We made more today than we’ve made _all month.”_

A grin spread over Leorio’s face.

“That’s great! At least something besides a headache came out of this for you.”

Kurapika looked away as he put the money in a bank bag, a flush warming his cheeks.

“Yea, well… thanks to you.”

Leorio rubbed at the back of his neck with a chuckle. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Pairo stand and stretch with feline grace.

“I’m gonna head down the block to grab a coffee, you guys want anything?”

Leorio watched as the shifter and the witch had a bit of an odd stare down, “Uh. I’m good, thanks.”

Pairo’s face immediately switched back into something friendly, “Okie dokie, anything for you Pika?”

“Chai Tea Latte,” he sighed, unamused.

“You got it!”

The shifter skedaddled out of the store, leaving Leorio and Kurapika alone.

Very alone.

“Say…” Leorio wondered as he followed Kurapika up the stairs, “Have you seen Killua?”

“He was here this morning. I'm pretty sure he said he was going to look for his sister,” The shopkeep led him inside his apartment. Leorio’s chest ached.

“Ah, poor kid. He must really miss her.”

“Yeah,” The blonde sat on the couch and arched a brow at Leorio when he didn’t immediately sit too.

“Oh, am I allowed on the couch now?” The sarcasm in his voice made Kurapika roll his eyes.

“Sit before I change my mind.”

Leorio smirked and sat, taking up an absolutely obnoxious amount of room on the small sofa. In his defense, he really didn’t have much choice. His arm was thrown over the back and his knee bumped against Kurapika’s. He felt the witch flinch before settling his leg closer so that they were pressed together from knee to ankle.

Even just that small gesture made Leorio’s heart race.

“Thank you.”

Leorio blinked, turning to look at the blonde who was adamantly staring down at his nails. Leorio noted absently that they were a deep forest green this time.

“For what? It was Gon really who attracted all those customers.”

Kurapika shook his head, a light flush tinting the tip of the one ear he could see and across the bridge of his nose.

“For being here. I know I didn’t really give you much choice, but you really took a huge load off of my shoulders," he slowly turned and looked up at Leorio through his thick eyelashes.

Leorio swallowed around the lump in his throat and tugged at the collar of his tee-shirt.

"It's uh, it's no trouble. I was happy to help."

Kurapika gave him a warm smile and Leorio counted it as a great achievement. 

Leorio's hand resting on the back of the couch itched to touch the man’s tousled blonde hair.

_I barely know the guy and I'm already this hung up on him? Maybe I_ am _a slut._

"So, uh, what did you want to do on Tuesday?"

Kurapika folded his hands in his lap and sighed.

"Well, like I said, I'm not much of a date person. If you want to watch a movie or have dinner I'd rather just stay home."

Leorio hummed to himself in thought. 

"Well… in the rare instances when you actually leave this shop, what do you usually do?"

"Oh- Well, once a week Pairo and I go gather wildflowers and herbs to dry for spellwork out of town. Would you want to help me? I know it's not very conventional for a date but…"

"I like unconventional," Leorio grinned, "Sure, yeah let's go."

Kurapika nodded, tucking some hair behind his ear and fiddling with his earring, "Do you have a car? I don't drive, myself."

"What, no broomstick license?" He smirked and Kurapika scowled, reaching up to pinch his ear. An intense shot of energy went through him from the witch’s fingertips and he jumped.

"Make a joke like that again and I'll shove a broomstick up your ass."

"Is that a promise?" asked Leorio, woefully unable to control his smart mouth.

Kurapika’s face burned red and he grinded his teeth together. The intensity of his stormy grey gaze made the ghost hunter's stomach twist in an odd tussle of nerves and excitement.

"You are _insufferable."_

"So I've been told."

Kurapika shook his head and crossed his arms. Leorio was tempted to say something else to instigate the witch’s wrath, if only to have his gaze on him again.

"To answer your question, no, I don't have a car. But I _do_ have a motorcycle."

He watched Kurapika's eyes flicker with interest. 

"Oh?"

"Is that okay with you?"

" _Yes._ I mean…. That would be adequate…"

_Interesting._

"Good. I'll bring my extra helmet for you."

"I-"

There was a knock on the open door and Pairo walked in, a smirk on his face, holding two cups.

"Sorry to intrude. Here's your spicy latte, Pika."

The blonde rolled his eyes but accepted the offering. He took a long sip and Leorio was fascinated, watching his throat as he swallowed.

"Are you staying for dinner, Leorio?" Pairo shot him a knowing look.

"Oh, uh, no thanks. I have a bunch of homework to catch up on."

He stood and Kurapika unexpectedly followed.

"I'll walk you out," the witch seemed to adamantly ignore his friend's mischievous grin.

Leorio followed him down stairs and to the door. He paused as Kurapika turned back to him.

"Have a good night, Leorio."

"Yeah… you too. If you need any help in the shop tomorrow afternoon, let me know."

Kurapika’s cheeks filled with heat and he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"I'll do that."

There was a beat of awkward silence before Kurapika seemed to gather himself and some kind of confidence. He reached up with one hand and laid it against Leorio's jaw. Energy shot through him pleasantly at that spot, intensely warm and jolting. 

The action was so unexpectedly intimate that when the witch pulled his hand back, Leorio felt like he'd been kissed. The energy spread through his body, making his fingers and toes tingle. 

He flushed from the top of his head down to his chest and floundered for _something_ to say, but all that came was a very intelligent " _Gah?!?!?!?!"_ As Kurapika swiftly opened the door with a jangle of the bell and _shoved him outside._

He stood there dumbly on the sidewalk, trying to dissect his whirlwind of emotions as Kurapika firmly shut and locked the door behind him.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is the best advice I can give to you. 
> 
> Respect. The fae.

Killua hovered over the edge of Leorio’s bed as he watched in amusement as he bounced around, getting ready for his date.

Leorio and Kurapika had decided to go earlier in the afternoon, giving them enough time in the late July sunshine.

The ghost hunter was nervous and excited and was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Killua and Zepile both had teased him about this numerous times.

“You know… it _is_ just a trip to _forage_ stuff.”

Leorio huffed, spraying on just a _bit_ too much cologne.

“Yeah, yeah, _I know._ But I’m one hundred percent sure this guy still kinda thinks I’m an asshole, so I want to make sure he knows I’m putting effort in,” he combed through his hair with his fingers, pushing it back from his forehead.

“Ah jeez, you’ve got it _bad.”_

“Don’t make me throw something through you.”

“Do you really want me to send you into cardiac arrest before your date?” Killua narrowed his bright blue eyes, raising a sparking hand.

Leorio gulped and moved right along.

  
  
  
  


Over the course of the last several days, all Leorio had been able to think about was the weird exchange they’d had the other day, and the realization that Kurapika would be pressed right up against his back for the hour-long motorcycle ride out of town and back.

He hadn’t been getting much sleep.

  
  


When he pulled up outside of The Odd Job, the witch immediately came out, as if he’d been waiting by the door. Something about that made Leorio’s stomach do cartwheels.

He flipped up the visor on his helmet and watched as he approached, unable to help himself from ogling the man. 

He was certainly dressed for the summer heat in his dark navy short-sleeved button-down, open all the way down to just above where it tucked into patterned, tan high-waisted shorts. Leorio could see the edge of what appeared to be scars through the opening of the shirt, but what _really_ interested him was the flash of the bottom half of an inner thigh tattoo that teased him as the man walked.

_Oh. Oh fuck._

He swallowed thickly and held out his extra helmet as the blonde stepped up to him.

“Hi,” Kurapika gave a small grin, adjusting the cross-body burlap bag sitting on his shoulder before taking the helmet and popping it on.

“ _Hey.”_

Out of instinct, _as he did with all of his significant others,_ he reached up and adjusted the chinstrap, buckling it securely in place. He didn’t miss the way Kurapika flushed down to his collar bones as he smacked his hands away.

He leaned forward and patted the seat behind him.

“Alright, hop on and hold on tight. If you need me to pull over, give me a pinch.”

Kurapika nodded and hesitated before slipping on behind him. Leorio waited patiently for him to get comfortable, unable to suppress the shiver that went through him as thin arms slid around his waist and small hands grabbed onto his abdomen. The thin cotton of his tee shirt did little to mask the feeling of Kurapika’s nervous energy radiating from his palms.

“Ready?” He called over his shoulder, flipping down his visor. Kurapika gave him a thumb’s up and he lifted the kickstand, revving the engine once just to show off before taking off.

  
  


The place out of town that they were going was actually somewhere Leorio had investigated before. It was a small patch of national forest, said to house ghosts and fae creatures and Leorio one hundred percent knew at least one of these things to be true. He had footage to prove it.

They were about halfway there when Leorio let muscle memory and his subconscious take over the drive and focused instead on every single inch of where the witch was pressed against him. At some point Kurapika had settled his helmeted head against his shoulder.

He prodded the energy he could feel in Kurapika’s hands to make sure he wasn’t scared and found that it was quite the opposite. _Kurapika was excited._

There was a palpable thrill emanating from his palms where they sat against the taut muscles of Leorio’s stomach. It spread through the ghost hunter like wildfire and he suddenly had chills, though it was easily ninety degrees outside.

  
  


Leorio slowed the bike as they entered the forest and he parked it along the side of the road, where a few other cars were already lined up. He waited patiently as Kurapika extricated himself and stood up. Leorio took both of their helmets and put them under the bike seat.

Leorio already could feel eyes on them from the forest, but he ignored it in favor of watching Kurapika as they began to walk.

  
  
  


“Hey,” Leorio wondered as they hiked through the woods, off the beaten path, “Don’t you have planters full of herbs in your shop? Why do you come all the way out here to get them?”

Kurapika paused next to a tree and squatted, taking a pair of shears from his bag to cut a couple of sprigs of something.

“Home grown herbs are powerful in their own right and very convenient, but taking directly from the earth always ensures better potency.”

Leorio hummed and nodded, stooping next to him, “So whatcha got there?”

Kurapika held the herb up to Leorio’s nose, “It’s Thyme. Like most herbs in the craft, Thyme has multiple uses, but what _I_ use it for is success with money.”

“Oh?” Leorio tilted his head, fascinated, “And that works somehow?”

“After the amount of money I made the other day? You tell me.”

Leorio nodded, remembering the absolutely _obscene_ amount of cash in Kurapika’s hands the day he helped out at the shop.

“So what do you do with it? Make a potion?”

“I _could_ but I find it to be much more effective if I infuse my bath water with it.”

“ _Oh,”_ Leorio’s voice cracked embarrassingly at the thought of the witch _bathing_ and he had to shake his head to clear it.

Seemingly oblivious, Kurapika snipped away until he had a whole bushel of sprigs and he reached into his bag again to pull out some twine.

“Will you hold these together while I tie them off?”

Leorio nodded and held the Thyme as Kurapika cut a length of the twine and knotted it around the herbs. When he was done he took them from Leorio and sat them in the bag, standing up.

A few feet away Kurapika spotted something else he’d been looking for and Leorio followed him over. He snipped at the plant and held it up to Leorio, “I bet you can guess this one.”

Leorio took a sniff and a corner of his mouth hitched up, “That’s peppermint! My _Nana_ used to always give us tea with peppermint when we had upset stomachs.”

Kurapika gave a pleased smile, “That’s right. And yes, that’s a fantastic use for it. In witchcraft we use it to cleanse energy and create protective barriers.”

“Ah, I see.”

Leorio held the peppermint together as Kurapika wrapped it in twine.

“You said _us_ earlier, do you have siblings?”

Leorio looked up, surprised by the question.

“Yes, I’m the oldest of three. We were all raised by our Nana. Nana is the one who taught me about _the gift.”_

“The gift? Your empathic abilities?”

He nodded and continued speaking as they began to walk again.

“There’s one in every generation of my dad’s side of the family, all the way back as far as anyone can remember.”

“That’s very interesting,” Kurapika looked at him inquisitively, “Who knows, you might have witch blood in your veins.”

Leorio laughed but Kurapika’s expression remained placid.

“Oh, you were serious?”

The blonde nodded as they came upon a large, untamed rose bush. Kurapika knelt and Leorio leaned back against a tree.

“I don’t know about all that.”

Kurapika shrugged and began to delicately cut the red bulbs from the bush.

“What’s with the roses?”

“Roses are for love spells and sex potions,” The blonde droned on without thinking.

Leorio arched a brow and crossed his arms with a smirk.

“Trying to seduce someone?”

The witch’s face turned red and he adamantly avoided Leorio’s gaze.

“Maybe I am. Get over here and hold these for me.”

Leorio blinked in surprise. He knelt at the blonde’s side and carefully took the flowers.

“Oh? And does this someone know you’re on a date with another man right now?”

Seemingly losing his shy pretext, Kurapika looked up at him with red cheeks and a deadpan stare, “I don’t know, are you fully aware right now?”

Leorio spluttered and accidentally squeezed the stems in his hand. He hissed out a string of expletives and dropped the roses, opening his hand to see rivulets of dark blood streaming from the crease of his palm and the tip of his ring finger.

“Oh give it here you big baby,” Kurapika shook his head and took Leorio’s wrist in both hands. Leorio watched in horrified fascination as the witch brought his hand up to his face and slid his tongue along his palm without hesitation.

Leorio’s entire body tensed at the hopelessly lewd, wet feeling of the muscle on his skin and his breath stuttered in his throat. He must have been russet from head to toe, and that only got worse as the witch wrapped his lips around the tip of his bleeding finger and _sucked._

  
  


Leorio had been close to death a few times, growing up.

When he was ten a car accident took his parents and almost took him, his baby brother and sister. When he was fourteen he had a nasty year of sleep-walking and walked right off the edge of the roof of his Nana’s house, breaking a leg and an arm. When he was seventeen he almost drowned swimming across a lake with his friends.

But _never_ had he felt closer to the afterlife than he did right then, watching Kurapika’s eyes flutter shut as he sucked the blood from his injured appendage. His mind went blank and he let out a noise embarrassingly similar to a whimper.

His arm felt almost numb where Kurapika held on from the intensity of the energy radiating off of his hands. Something heavy settled low in his gut.

_I don’t think he needs to worry about potions to seduce me._

He felt Kurapika’s tongue twirl against the pad of his finger a final time before he pulled away and opened his eyes. They were a mottled mix of red and grey, and when Leorio looked down he realized that the cuts on his hands were completely healed.

“How the hell-“

“Magic,” the blonde shrugged, “The real kind. I can only do that because of my bloodline.”

Leorio flexed his hand, willing his heartbeat to slow down.

“Uh, th-thanks. That was… uh.”

Kurapika ignored him in favor of gathering up the flowers he’d dropped and just putting them in his sack unbundled.

  
  


It was a couple of hours later now but heat still buzzed under Leorio’s skin as they made their way through the forest.

Kurapika’s bag of herbs and flowers was getting full (or it should have been. It still looked suspiciously flat), but Leorio’s stomach had never felt more empty. It made a horribly uncomfortable growling noise and Leorio’s ears and neck flushed.

Kurapika snorted and stopped in his tracks.

“You must be hungry. I brought some lunch for us.”

He reached into his bag, much deeper than Leorio felt like he should have been capable of, and pulled out a couple of parchment-wrapped sandwiches and a plastic bag full of chips as well as two bottles of water.

Leorio arched a brow, “I thought you didn’t cook?”

“Even _I_ can make a simple sandwich, Leorio,” he rolled his eyes and handed the food off to Leorio. He then looked around to make sure there were no other people around before making a gesture with his fingers, and what appeared to be a large table-cloth pulled itself out of the bag and shook itself out before placing itself smoothly on the forest floor.

  
  


Leorio shook his head, rubbing his temple.

“I.. I still don’t understand it, but _fuck_ that was cool.”

Kurapika burst into laughter and the sound did terribly nice things to his stomach.

  
  


The pair settled on the ground and Leorio listened to the occasional sound of birds chirping as he dug into his sandwich. Eventually his curiosity got the better of him and he began to speak again.

“So, what about you? Do you have siblings?”

Kurapika looked up, appearing surprised.

“Oh… no, I don’t, unless you count Pairo. He’s close enough to a brother. Certainly _meddlesome_ enough to be a brother,” the blonde rolled his eyes.

“Ah, yes I supposed I could see that,” The shapeshifter definitely seemed like a troublemaker, that’s for sure, “And what about your parents?”

“Oh, uh. They passed away a while ago,” the somber look on the man’s face said that there was definitely more of a story there, but Leorio didn’t think it was appropriate to pry.

He couldn’t, however, resist his impulse to reach out and cover Kurapika’s hand with his own where it rested on the cloth beneath them, radiating comfort.

Kurapika looked at their hands before looking up and locking eyes with him.

Neither of them said anything as Kurapika slowly turned his hand over so that their palms were pressed together. Leorio sighed as the pleasant warmth of the witch’s energy, the witch’s _power_ spread through him.

They both seemed content to eat one handed, and Leorio was quite pleased that the blonde hadn’t immediately pulled his hand away.

When he’d eaten his fill, Leorio sat back and eyed Kurapika slyly.

His hair was frizzy from the humidity, his face pink. Leorio followed a few beads of sweat with his eyes- down his neck and exposed chest, and between his thighs. His knees were stained with dirt from kneeling on the ground.

He swallowed around a lump in his throat, that heat under his skin sizzling back to life.

Kurapika seemed to take notice- of _course_ he did, Leorio was involuntarily broadcasting his hormones straight through their hands- and Leorio watched him bite his bottom lip until it was raw.

Leorio itched to haul him in and soothe it with his tongue.

A jolt went through him and he suddenly realized that some of the blatant arousal he felt wasn’t merely his _own._

He took a chance and used his free hand to tangle in Kurapika’s hair, pulling him in to kiss him wantonly.

Kurapika shuddered, curling his fingers into the fabric of Leorio's shirt with a muffled noise of surprise. For a moment he froze and Leorio worried that he might have interpreted the mood incorrectly, but those concerns were squashed the minute that Kurapika tilted his head and scraped his teeth against his bottom lip.

Kurapika let go of his hand in favor of wrapping both arms around Leorio’s neck and insistently pulling him closer. Before long, Leorio hovered over him as he laid back against the makeshift picnic blanket, licking into his mouth as Kurapika’s thighs squeezed around his hips.

Leorio hummed into his mouth as his tongue mapped out every inch of it, warm and wet and sweet. When he needed breath he pulled away, drinking in the sight of Kurapika’s heavy-lidded eyes and swollen lips. He cursed and leaned in to mouth at the witch's sweat-slick neck and collar bones.

He felt a shiver go through Kurapika as he threw his head back and moaned shamelessly. He left incriminating little lovebites along his throat as Kurapika’s hands tugged at his hair.

The ghost hunter’s mind was hazy with lust, but he was still vaguely aware of unseen eyes on him. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Whatever was watching felt _angry._

He ignored this as best he could in favor of sliding a hand up a bare thigh. Kurapika caught his hand and pulled his head away from his chest with a harsh tug. He arched a brow, both of them panting heavily.

“W-What’s.. up? Are you… okay?’

Kurapika nodded, taking a deep breath. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked over Leorio’s shoulder.

“W-We shouldn’t do this here.”

There were probably a multitude of reasons why this was sound advice, but Leorio saw and felt a bit of fear come over the blonde.

“Okay, that’s cool, but why?”

Kurapika urged him to sit up and followed, looking around.

“This is fae territory, it would be disrespectful. Trust me when I say you do _not_ want to piss off the fae.”

“Fae? You mean like fairies?”

Kurapika rolled his eyes, wiping the trail of spit from his chin, “In a way, yes. They are very tricky and easily offended.”

“Oh come _on,_ what’s Tinkerbell gonna do? Hit me with pixie dust?”

The energy in the forest immediately changed _drastically_ and every hair on Leorio’s body stood on end. He gulped.

“We… We should leave,” Kurapika stood, dragging him to his feet hastily.

“Uh yeah… yeah I think that’s a good idea.”

  
  


They quickly cleaned up and Kurapika led them back towards the road.

_“Leorio…”_

Leorio whipped his head around in the direction of the voice and saw Kurapika slip behind a tree. He blinked in confusion, turning back around to where Kurapika _should have been,_ in front of him. He was gone.

_What the fuck?_

He turned back around and followed in the direction of where he thought Kurapika had disappeared to.

There was a sultry giggle and Leorio turned, watching another Kurapika run through the trees.

His stomach twisted itself into knots.

“Kurapika?!”

He walked further, looking round anxiously.

He suddenly realized he had no clue where he was, and now he couldn’t find Kurapika anywhere.

  
  


He wandered around, calling out for Kurapika at every turn. His skin still pricked with goosebumps.

Suddenly he felt something slam into the back of his mind.

**_Leorio? Can you hear me?_ **

_Kurapika?! Where are you?!_

Leorio stopped and looked around, desperately.

**_Where am I?! Where are you?! Why did you run off?_ **

_I didn’t! I chased after you and got lost!_

**_Leorio I watched you turn around and run._ **

He swallowed thickly, nervously, and stopped moving, putting his back to a tree and eyeing his surroundings warily.

**_I think the fae are playing a trick on you because you insulted them._ **

_Me and my big mouth…_

He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.

**_You can’t be too far away or I wouldn’t be able to reach you like this. Stay where you are, I’ll come find you._ **

Leorio huffed.

_Okay. I’d give you some landmarks to go off of but everything in this damn forest looks the exact same._

**_Meanwhile maybe you should try to apologize to the fae for being an ass._ **

Leorio didn't even know how to begin to make amends with creatures he didn't understand, but he started babbling out apologies left and right.

Every once in a while he could feel the pulse of Kurapika’s energy at the back of his head, and it eases a bit of his tension.

As the sun started to go down, he got worried.

_Kurapika?_

**_I'm here, I'm sorry, I think you might have been spirited away._ **

_What the fuck does that mean?_

**_It means they sent you through to another dimension._ **

Leorio suddenly felt ill. As he looked around at the woods, he wrapped his arms around himself for comfort.

_Uh so how the fuck do I get back?!_

**_Calm down. You just have to find the portal again and come back through. I can help with that, but it has to wait until it's dark._ **

The idea of staying in the pitch back forest was unnerving to say the least. 

Kurapika’s energy took on a soothing warmth and his voice in his head was firm.

**_Hey, everything will be fine. Just stay alert. I'll get you back, I promise._ **

Leorio took a deep breath.

_Okay… I trust you._

  
  


The sun did not take long at all to go down and Leorio didn't know whether that was a curse or a blessing. 

**_Okay. I want you to keep your eyes peeled for a bright light._ **

Leorio’s brows furrowed but he obeyed, stepping away from the safety of his tree as he searched the dark for a light source. 

He could feel Kurapika’s energy ramping up, could feel the force of it swimming through his body and pulling at his consciousness. It felt urgent and desperate, and belatedly Leorio realized he was following it straight to a dim light. 

_I see it!_

**_Good! Hurry, I can't keep this up for very long!_ **

Leorio didn't know what _this_ meant but he broke into a run, legs pumping furiously as the light got brighter.

Suddenly it felt like Leorio ran through cobwebs and he swiped around himself, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Leorio!"

He looked up and blinked.

There stood Kurapika with both hands raised in the air, illuminating the forest with light from his palms. The light faded as Kurapika met him halfway and they were cast only in the thin rays of moonlight that slipped through the canopy of the trees. 

Kurapika stood on his toes and grabbed his face, seeming to check him over for injury.

"Thank the goddess you're alright," his relief quickly turned to irritation and he reached up to tug on his ear, giving him a jolt of displeased energy, "I _specifically said not to piss off the fae!"_

Leorio rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. 

"Look, you can scold me all you want later, but for now can we please _get the fuck out of here?"_

"Good idea," Kurapika grabbed him by the hand and hauled him along, pulling out his phone to use the flashlight. 

Leorio stared down at where they were connected inquisitively and felt Kurapika squeeze. 

"I'm not letting go until I can be sure you won't get lost again," Kurapika said, as if hearing him think. Then again, maybe he _did._

"Fair enough," Leorio squeezed back.

  
  


On the ride back into the city, Kurapika held on twice as tight to his torso, as if he'd suddenly disappear from the bike. Leorio, still anxious and a bit disoriented, was grateful for it. The whole _interdimensional travel_ thing would probably send him spiraling later. 

  
  


He pulled up to the curb outside the shop and let Kurapika off before getting up himself. He took back his helmet and stashed it under the seat. He lifted his own off his head and sat it under his arm, against his hip so he could properly speak.

"Sorry for… uh… whatever the hell happened back there. I didn't mean to worry you."

Kurapika rolled his eyes, "Next time I give you advice, _listen_. I don't just talk for my health."

Leorio nodded, scratching his jaw.

"Yeah… well.. Other than that whole… thing… I had a really good time with you."

Leorio could see Kurapika’s face flush in the light of the streetlamp.

"I… did too."

"Maybe we could do this again? I promise not to piss off any magical creatures next time," he wiggled his brows and felt very accomplished as Kurapika stifled a laugh. 

He looked up at Leorio with an amused smirk and seemed to contemplate the suggestion for a moment before nodding. 

"Very well, I think I would enjoy that."

A large grin spread across Leorio's face.

"I'll uh, text you."

"Mhm. Good night, Leorio," he put a hand on his jaw and leaned up on his toes to kiss him.

Leorio made a noise of surprise, closing his eyes and leaning down to deepen the kiss. The hand on his face radiated warm, prickling energy that remained even as the witch pulled away. 

Leorio cleared his throat, licking his lips.

"G-Good night, Kurapika."

The blonde gave him a soft smile before adjusting his hold on his bag and turning to walk towards the door.

Leorio waited until he was safely inside before putting his helmet back on and throwing his leg back over his bike.

He took one last look at the shop and saw a smirking cat in the window. His ears heated and he quickly looked away, revving up the bike and speeding away.

  
  
  


When he got home, he shut the door behind himself and leaned against it. Zepile looked up from his phone as he sat on the couch.

"Hey buddy, how was your date?"

Leorio floundered for a second.

"Well…. We made out on the forest floor so there's that."

Zepile arched a brow.

"You look pale. Did he suck out your soul through your mouth or?"

Leorio rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "No, I pissed off a fae and got thrown into an alternate dimension. You know," He turned and wandered down the hall, "Typical Tuesday."

Zepile’s brows furrowed.

"Right…. Perfectly normal…"

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a scale of 1-10 how whipped do you think Leorio is?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I made some art for this fic and put them in the last couple of chapters, go back and look ;)

As soon as Leorio’s new recording setup arrived, he dived headfirst back into making videos for his channel.

He posted a couple of videos about the stuff Kurapika had been teaching him, and things from his own research. 

And he also went on an investigation, dragging along his reluctant cohost and oldest friend, Pietro.

The place they had explored this time was an abandoned prison near the coast, with a pretty negative reputation. 

The amount of evidence they had gotten was astounding, especially the long, thin scratches that crisscrossed over the back of Leorio's leg.

The unfortunate thing about going to such active locations was the inevitable _paranormal hangover._ It lasted several days and consisted of a huge headache, nightmares, sleep paralysis, and sometimes big bouts of depression. It was his least favorite part of the deal.

  
  


Leorio had been so busy that he hadn't really had time to even attempt to take Kurapika on another date. 

That wasn't to say that he hadn't been _thinking_ about him, however. In fact, Zepile, Pietro, Killua, and half the ghosts at the prison were all now incredibly aware of _how much_ Leorio thought about the witch. 

Killua said he was hopeless and he kind of agreed. 

  
  
  


He was lounging on his bed, nursing his headache and scrolling through the comments on the investigation video when he got a text. 

  
  


**From: Kurapika**

**You should be more careful going places with negative energies.**

  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**Awww you worried about me :" >**

  
  


**From: Kurapika**

**Be serious. You could have gotten something much worse than a couple of scratches.**

**Come over.**

  
  


Leorio couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**So bossy.**

**How do you know I'm not busy?**

  
  


**From: Kurapika**

**I don't. I also don't care.**

**Come over.**

  
  


Leorio snorted and stood up, running a hand through his hair. 

_What a firecracker._

  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**You know, some guys would be put off by your attitude**

**Lucky for you, I like it**

  
  


**From: Kurapika**

**Just get over here I s2g**

  
  


**To: Kurapika**

**Omw :p**

  
  
  


Leorio strode into The Odd Job and found Pairo at the counter. He looked up at the jangle of the door from the magazine he was reading and his eyes sparkled.

"Leorio! Hey! Pika’s upstairs waiting on you. Before you go up though…"

Leorio stepped up, shoving his hands in his pockets, "What’s up?"

The shifter leaned in, tapping his fingers on the counter.

"By chance… is your camera guy single? And as chaotically bisexual as he seems?"

"Pietro?" Leorio blinked, a smirk slowly spreading across his face, "Actually yeah, yes to both."

Pairo’s eyes lit up and he slouched forward, propping his chin on his hand.

"Anyway you could hook a guy up?"

Leorio chuckled, scratching at his chin.

"Well, a few of my buddies are coming over to celebrate the end of the summer semester on Friday night. Pietro will be there. You and Kurapika should come."

"Perfect! Oh- wait… Is he allergic to cats?"

Leorio snorted and shook his head, "Nope, you're all good."

"You're a Saint, thanks Leorio!"

  
  


Leorio knocked twice on Kurapika’s door and it opened by itself. He walked in to find a rather irritated Kurapika, arms and legs crossed, foot bouncing as he sat on the couch. 

"Well hey there _Sunshine_ , what's got you so out of sorts?"

Kurapika rolled his eyes.

"Do you have some sort of death wish?"

"Is that a threat or a genuine question?"

Kurapika huffed and stood, meeting him in the middle of the room.

"Antagonizing hostile spirits is a great way to get _possessed,_ you idiot."

The back of Leorio's neck heated and he scowled, "Look, it's the best way to get evidence. I'm not above taking risks for the sake of my channel."

"Ridiculous… absolutely ridiculous…"Kurapika scrubbed a hand over his face, "Selene, give me strength. Nothing I say will convince you to stop, will it? Fine."

"Fine?" Leorio blinked, tilting his head as Kurapika went over to pick something up off the counter.

"I had a feeling you'd be stubborn about it, so I made you something for protection."

Leorio's ire dissipated as something warm and fond settled in his chest.

"You made me something?"

He didn't miss the way Kurapika’s cheeks heated as he came back over and settled on the couch again. Leorio eagerly sat down next to him, curious.

"Hold out your hand."

Leorio obeyed and Kurapika fastened something to his wrist.

It was a corded bracelet with three large chunks of some kind of crystal attached. 

"This is black tourmaline, it repels negative energy like a force field."

Leorio felt the tips of Kurapika’s fingers slide against his wrist with a little spark of energy and he swallowed hard. 

"Thank you, that's super thoughtful."

The blonde nodded, pulling the ghost hunter’s hand into his lap and turning it over to inspect the lines on his palm.

"Once a week they need to be cleansed. All you have to do is soak them in saltwater and keep them in direct sunlight for at least twelve hours. Obviously, take them off the cord when you do that."

He nodded, a shiver going up his spine as Kurapika dragged his nails lightly over his palm.

"So things shouldn't be able to hurt me now?"

"Most things, yes. Only something really powerful could break through."

Leorio hummed in thought.

Kurapika began to pull away his fingers but Leorio caught them, twining their hands together and sighing at the warm press of energy.

"By the way, it would seem _your_ friend has the hots for mine."

The witch rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

"Yes, he's had a bit of a crush on him since I introduced him to your videos… I apologize if he came off a bit… thirsty."

Leorio laughed and shook his head, "It's totally cool. Honestly Pairo is one hundred percent Pietro’s type. He asked me to introduce him so I invited you guys to the little party I'm having on Friday night."

"Oh," Kurapika blinked, "I mean… alright."

Leorio grinned, stroking the back of his hand with his thumb. 

"So… you introduced Pairo to my content, huh?"

The witch’s face turned bright red and he spluttered, looking away. Leorio felt Kurapika’s energy spike with embarrassment.

"A-and what of it?"

"Oh nothing, it's just that based on how you acted when we first met, I didn't really assume you were a fan."

Kurapika scoffed, "I never said I was a _fan."_

Leorio arched a brow and pointed down at the closed laptop on the coffee table that was adorned with an unmistakable _Paladiknight Paranormal_ sticker. 

"That yours?"

Kurapika’s mouth snapped shut and pressed into a thin line. His eyes melded red and Leorio swallowed around a lump in his throat as Kurapika’s energy flooded the room. 

"Whoa, hold on don't go feral on me, I think it's cute," he squeezed his hand, "Put the hocus-pocus away."

Kurapika narrowed his eyes but relented, the air in the room steadily cleared. 

“Jesus you’re hot when you’re scary,” Leorio shook his head, “But scary nonetheless.”

Kurapika’s lips twitched up into a pleased smirk.

“I can be scarier.”

Leorio swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat, something heavy and hot settling in the pit of his stomach. 

_Oh I don’t doubt that one bit._

Kurapika’s eyebrow raised and his smirk widened and Leorio belatedly realized that their hands were still connected.

_Fuck._

Kurapika licked his lips and Leorio followed his tongue with his eyes. The witch tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, revealing the little moon on the side of his neck.

“Uh s-so, I’ve seen the tattoo on your neck and the one on your leg and the tiny one on your finger. Do you have any more?”

Kurapika leaned in a little, his eyes heavy-lidded and mischievous.

“I do. I have one more.”

“Oh?” He arched a brow.

“Mhm. If you’re exceptionally lucky, I’ll let you see it some time.”

Leorio swore his soul left his body. 

He cursed, rubbing his face with his hand.

_His mood changes on a dime, I can’t keep up._

He had to admit to himself that it was kind of thrilling.

“Well… we’ll see,” he cleared his throat, “In the meantime, what are the odds of me being able to get a kiss?”

“Highly likely,” Kurapika’s free hand twisted in the collar of Leorio’s shirt and hauled him in.

Leorio’s heart skipped a beat at the pleased sigh Kurapika let out against his lips, his hand tangling in his hair.

Kurapika’s hand let go of his shirt and slid over his shoulder, cupping the back of his neck. Leorio nipped and sucked at his bottom lip and the witch’s nails dug into his nape, sending a shiver all the way down his body.

Kurapika’s lips parted and their tongues slid together wantonly. Leorio could feel a surge of satisfaction from where their hands were connected and it stoked the fire in his belly.

When he pulled away for breath he took in the sight of Kurapika’s wide pupils and wet, kiss-swollen lips and carefully filed away the image for later, when he was alone.

"So," he licked the spit from his lips, "Did you have something else besides the bracelet that needed my _immediate_ attention or would you like to continue making out?"

"Making out was the other reason I called you over."

He said it so dead-panned and serious that it made Leorio laugh. Kurapika let go of his hand and crossed his arms, pursing his lips in what could almost be considered a pout.

" _Never mind."_

Leorio _did_ pout.

"Aw come on, you just said that with such a serious face, I couldn't help it."

The witch rolled his eyes and crooked his finger as he leaned back against the armrest.

"Get over here."

Leorio scrambled to settle himself between the blonde’s thighs, leaning over him to suck and bite at the crook of his neck like a man starving.

Kurapika let out a surprised squeak, settling his legs further apart and leaning his head over to give Leorio better access. 

The witch’s hands managed to find their way under the back of his shirt and they _burned_ with the intensity of Kurapika’s energy as they dragged over his skin.

Leorio’s mouth added to the fading trail of marks on Kurapika’s neck, every harsh bite and suck warranting a little buck of the blonde’s hips.

Leorio groaned, pressing his hips down against the other’s as Kurapika threw one leg over and slid his heel up the back of his calf.

He let out a string of expletives, resting his forehead against the blonde’s shoulder. One of his hands slid up Kurapika’s leg and gripped his hip and the witch responded by letting his head flop back as he moaned loudly and scraped his nails against Leorio’s shoulder blades.

One of those hands left his back and came up to tug Leorio’s hair, pulling him back in for a desperate kiss. He bit Leorio’s lips until they were raw and then sucked on them, soothing them over with his tongue.

"Oh uh oops… I'll come back later," Leorio turned to look over his shoulder where an amused Pairo was shutting the door behind himself. Kurapika shoved him off and he frowned, scooting off of him as he sat up.

Kurapika adjusted his clothes primly, averting his gaze.

"You have _really_ nice lips," Leorio blurted.

The witch rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Shameless flirt."

"Guilty," he shrugged, "You also have pretty eyes and incredible legs and your _ass_ is just-"

Kurapika slapped a hand over his mouth, the flush that was already present from making out intensifying.

"Shut. Up."

Leorio very maturely licked his palm and he squealed, letting go to wipe off his hand.

"What? Can't handle a little flattery?"

Kurapika scoffed.

Leorio grinned and stood with a stretch.

"Welp, if that's _all_ you needed, I guess I'll go."

"No."

"No?" He blinked in confusion. 

"Stay for dinner."

Leorio smirked, tilting his head.

"God, you really _are_ bossy."

"If you didn't like it you wouldn't be here. You practically trip all over yourself when I give your orders. Don't think I didn't notice."

Leorio’s ears and neck turned russet.

"So whats for dinner?"

  
  


Kurapika's smirk widened and his eyes took on a dangerous glint, and Leorio instantly knew he was already well and truly wrapped around his magical little finger.

  
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio dies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *points to the rating change* y'all know what time it is.
> 
> Is it weird to dedicate porn to your friends? Anyway this one is for Sylvie.
> 
> BE AWARE cause I know for some of my fellow Trans dudes certain language can trigger some icky weird feelings so just for your knowledge, Kurapika’s genitals are referred to as entrance, cunt, and clit.
> 
> Ty enjoy

Before the eventual Friday fling, Leorio managed to convince Kurapika to go on two more dates. 

Admittedly, one of those dates consisted of just eating pizza on the floor of the witch’s apartment, but he counted it nonetheless.

Kurapika, as it turned out, was more than an eager kissing partner and Leorio was not complaining at all when it turned out that half their time spent together would play out as such.

When  _ not  _ sucking each other’s faces off, Kurapika taught him little witchy things. Like how to dry herbs and what stones and crystals did what.

They settled into an awkward little rhythm.

  
  
  


“Stop bouncing your leg, you’re making me motion sick,” Zepile threw a bag of chips at Leorio’s head, “Your nerves are getting to  _ me.” _

Leorio sighed and stood up to walk around, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“What’s gotten in to you Leo? I’ve never seen you this strung out,” Pietro said around a mouthful of taco, “if anything  _ I  _ should be nervous, with you setting me up blind with some random.. uh… cat boy?”

“Maybe don’t call him that,” Leorio sighed again, “I don’t know, guys, I just want Kurapika to  _ like  _ everyone. And he’s kind of a hard guy to impress.”

“Look if he’s into  _ you  _ I don’t think we have to work too har-  _ Oof,”  _ Leorio picked up a pillow and hit Phinks in the back of the head, making his boyfriend laugh so hard he fell backwards off the the larger man’s lap.

There were three quick raps on the door and Leorio’s nerves skyrocketed.

“Okay everyone  _ behave,”  _ He glared around the room, which served to do nothing but make his friends snicker as he went to open the door.

Kurapika was a vision, all dressed up in a black turtleneck and jeans. The collar of the shirt hid all of the hickeys and teeth marks that matched the ones proudly displayed on Leorio’s own neck. How wearing something that practically covered every inch of his skin could still turn Leorio on? Well that was a mystery.

He looked up at Leorio expectantly, and the ghost hunter realized that he’d just been standing there staring.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Yes, yes  _ hello.  _ Can we come inside now?” Pairo crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

Leorio cleared his throat, ears tinging pink at the tips, “Right, yes,  _ sorry.” _

He stepped aside and let the two of them in, and Kurapika’s fingers brushed against his hand as he walked by. It shouldn’t have given him butterflies but it  _ did. _

All three of them walked into the living room proper and the rowdy bunch already present looked up with a chorus of frat boy-like  _ “Heeeeeey!!!” _

“Alright guys, this is Pairo and Kurapika,” he pointed to his friends in succession, “That’s Zepile, Phinks and Feitan, and last but certainly not least- Pietro.”

Leorio watched with a smirk as Pietro eyed up Pairo and could feel the shifter’s flustered excitement.

_ Oh I think this is going to work out just fine. _

“You two take a seat and grab some snacks. Can I get you anything to drink? Beer? Water?” He gave Kurapika a sly grin, “Sorry I don’t have any tea.”

Kurapika rolled his eyes and settled on the empty end of the couch, Pairo sitting himself down in the middle right next to Pietro and quickly falling into conversation with him.

“Water.”

“Water it is. Anything for you Pairo? Uh… Pairo?”

“Huh? Oh no, I’m good,” He didn’t even bother looking up, waving him away dismissively.

Leorio shrugged and walked off to fetch Kurapika’s water.

  
  


When he returned he could immediately tell, without even being able to sense Kurapika’s energy, that he was  _ irate.  _

Phinks seemed to be questioning him about something, and whatever it was was clearly pissing him off.

_ Ugh, dammit. Already? _

“Hey, hey what’s going on?” Leorio passed Kurapika a bottle of water and squeezed in between him and Pairo.

“I was just askin’ if he could show me some magic tricks and-“

“Oh come on, he’s not some carnival sideshow. Believe me, if he shows you  _ some magic tricks  _ you might shit your pants. And you’re in my favorite chair, so shut the fuck up.”

Phinks grumbled and crossed his arms, looking like a reprimanded child. Feitan grabbed his nose and yanked on it, “Rude,  _ Baichi.” _

Leorio watched the couple bicker for a few seconds before he realized that Kurapika was staring up at him with an unexpectedly soft look on his face. He arched a brow.

Kurapika’s hand found his own and as the witch’s energy flowed through him he felt a nudge in the back of his head.

**_Thank you._ **

Leorio blinked in surprise.

_ For what? _

**_Not treating me like a commodity._ **

Kurapika looked away, squeezing his hand. Leorio grinned.

“Wow, it’s like they just had a whole conversation but they never said anything. I already knew Leo was  _ gone  _ over him but…” Zepile sat back in his seat, a smirk on his face.

Leorio and Kurapika made eye contact and busted out laughing. Everyone else just seemed perplexed.

  
  


As the night wore on and much food and booze was consumed, Leorio’s friends managed to urge Kurapika into friendly conversation. Phinks even apologized, and though Leorio could still tell the witch was irritated, he accepted said apology.

Pairo and Pietro were hitting it off.  _ Really  _ hitting it off. They whispered into each other’s ears as if they’d known each other forever and by the time everyone decided to dim the lights and put on a movie, Pairo was practically in Pietro’s lap.

Leorio elbowed Kurapika and nodded his head in their direction. Kurapika subtly leaned around him and snorted as he sat back.

**_Well they certainly seem… cozy._ **

_ That’s an understatement. _

He glanced at Kurapika once more before settling his eyes back on the screen.

_ Are you cozy? _

**_I could be cozier._ **

Leorio stifled a snicker and slid his arm around the blonde’s shoulders, pulling him tight to his side. Kurapika settled his head against his chest and rested a hand on Leorio’s thigh.

Leorio swallowed around a lump in his throat.

A few minutes later and Leorio felt the drag of Kurapika’s nails on the fabric of his jeans, drawing little circular patterns further and further up his thigh.

He shot the blonde a look out of the corner of his eye, but he was fully focused on the tv screen. It wasn’t much of a convincing act since Leorio could feel the flustered energy radiating from the witch’s palm.

_ What a tease… _

Kurapika’s lips quirked up and he gave a sharp squeeze to Leorio’s inner thigh, making him jolt. He turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the blonde, who bit the inside of his cheek to stifle a laugh.

  
  


By the end of the movie, Zepile had fallen asleep in his chair and Phinks and Feitan were halfway there. Pairo and Pietro seemed to be having a rather heated conversation as Leorio stood up and began to clean the mess from the coffee table.

As he took empty cups and beer bottles to the kitchen, he saw Pairo lean over to whisper something in Kurapika’s ear. When he came back, neither Pairo or Pietro were anywhere to be found. Kurapika stood up with a languid stretch as he walked back over.

“Where’s-“

“They are… heading back to Pietro’s, apparently.”

“Oh.  _ Oh.  _ Well that was… fast.”

Kurapika rolled his eyes, “That’s Pairo’s style. The only sucky thing is he was my ride home.”

The witch looked up at him from beneath his lashes, biting his lip.

It was bait. It was blatant, obvious, unrestrained bait and damn if Leorio wasn’t going to take it.

“I’ll take you home.”

Kurapika’s pleased grin made Leorio’s stomach twist into knots.

  
  


The motorcycle ride to the shop was only really ten minutes but it felt eons-long with Kurapika pressed right up against him, holding on tight to him with positively horny energy searing through Leorio’s shirt where his hands lay.

  
  


Leorio considered himself a patient man. He really did.

But as soon as they were upstairs and the door was shut behind them, all bets were off.

Leorio pushed Kurapika back against the door and stooped to kiss him fervently, earning a satisfied little moan as Kurapika pulled him closer by his belt loops.

The ghost hunter’s hands slid down his body, squeezing his hips and getting a sharp inhale of breath. Those hands settled on his thighs and hoisted him up. He broke from the witch’s lips to nip at his earlobe.

“ _ So,”  _ He whispered heatedly, “What are the odds of me getting to see that other tattoo tonight?”

“One-hundred percent likely.”

Leorio cursed, readjusting his hold on him before turning around and nearly stumbling over his own feet as the blonde latched onto his neck. 

He dropped Kurapika unceremoniously onto his bed and they both kicked off their shoes. Leorio pulled his shirt over his head and watched as the witch’s flush deepened in color. He reached out with mischievous hands and slid them down his torso, leaving tingly trails of energy in their wake. He eagerly unbuckled Leorio’s belt and shucked his pants off.

Leorio urged him to scoot back so he could settle between his thighs. His large hands slid up Kurapika’s legs and under his shirt. He dragged the bottom of his turtleneck up, leaning down to lay open-mouthed kisses up his torso for every inch of skin revealed. Kurapika arched his back, scrambling to pull his shirt over his head.

Leorio trailed careful fingers over his chest, skirting around the light-colored scars until Kurapika forcibly grabbed his hand and settled it square over one side of his chest.

“It’s okay. Nothing is off limits to touch. But if you use the word  _ pussy  _ they’ll never find your body.”

Leorio gulped and nodded, “ _ Yes sir.” _

Kurapika smirked, grabbing Leorio’s other hand and placing it over the button of his jeans.

Leorio took a shuddering breath and licked his suddenly dry lips. He took both of his hands back to unfasten his pants and peel them off his legs. He took a moment to sit back on his heels, and admire the smooth plains of Kurapika’s flushed neck and chest, the full image of his thigh tattoo, and the very noticeable wet spot on the fabric between his legs.

He took a hold of one thigh and his thumb slid under the edge of Kurapika’s boxer-briefs. He leaned back over him and lapped at a pert nipple before wrapping his lips around it and sucking. Kurapika’s hand tangled in his hair and he threw his head back with a high keening noise. Leorio scraped his teeth against it and felt shiver run through the blonde’s body.

His hand slid over on his thigh and he pressed his thumb against the soaked fabric on his crotch, making him gasp and buck his hips. He pulled away from his nipple to lay lovebites all over his chest and collar bones, painting his skin in purples and pinks.

A sneaky, singular finger slid down the dark trail of hair below his naval and over his erection, making him curse and shudder. It was too much and not nearly enough and judging by the look on the witch’s face, he knew exactly that.

He cupped him through his boxers, squeezing firmly, and the little jolt of his energy that went through him at the contact… well that was  _ different. _

He took a deep breath to steady himself, and Kurapika caught his hand as it went to remove his underwear. He pulled it up to his mouth and nipped at his fingertips, a heavy, daring look in his eyes that spelled trouble.

“Here’s what is about to happen. You’re going to eat me out and if you do a good enough job I’ll let you fuck my mouth.”

The blonde’s blatantly  _ filthy  _ and demanding words made Leorio’s cock pulse so violently his vision went black at the edges for a moment.

“ _ Fuck, Jesus Christ,” he scrubbed a hand over his face, “Oh my  _ **_god.”_ **

**“** God has nothing to do with it,” Kurapika pushed him down towards his lower half, “Tick tock. Don’t waste my time.”

Leorio swallowed hard and eagerly pulled his briefs from his body, settling down between his legs. He catalogued every inch of him from the neatly trimmed thatch of dark blonde curls to the glistening pink flesh beneath, and the tiny, almost mocking Aries symbol emblazoned on his hip.

Leorio mouthed at the man’s hipbones and placed hickeys all over his inner thighs. The little sighs and moans that fell from the blonde’s lips fed into the tightness in his gut.

He was working on laying another hickey down when Kurapika seemed to get fed up with his teasing and grabbed him by the hair, shoving his face exactly where he wanted it.

Leorio didn’t mind.

He adjusted his posture, shifting one of Kurapika’s legs onto his shoulder. Without any other pretense he used his thumb and forefinger to spread him apart and licked a broad stripe up him, flicking his tongue over his clit. Kurapika gasped and squirmed as he gave the bundle of nerves little kitten licks. 

His tongue swirled around his entrance and just  _ barely  _ dipped inside, blatantly testing Kurapika’s patience. The witch responded by digging his heel into his back and pushing him further into his cunt. He obediently pressed the slippery muscle further in, his nose bumping against his clit as he licked into him and Kurapika rocked his hips against his face and moaned loudly.

He hummed against him, squeezing a firm thigh in his hand. He pulled his tongue out and shoved it back in, curling it upwards and twirling it as if he was signing his name. The wet noises coming from his mouth were lewd even to himself and his dick throbbed against the confines of his boxers.

Leorio pulled away for a breath, glancing at Kurapika’s splotchy red face and furrowed brow. He went back down and sucked his clit into his mouth and worked a thick finger into him, crooking it, and Kurapika arched, muffling a moan of his name against his own hand. He swirled his tongue and pumped his finger against the rock of his hips, adding another and giving a  _ come hither  _ motion against his sweet spot.

Leorio’s fingers spread apart and his tongue dipped between them. The muscles in Kurapika’s thighs began to tense and he threw his other leg over Leorio’s shoulder, crossing his ankles behind his neck and riding his face for all that he was worth. Nothing but loud, incoherent moans fell from his lips but suddenly he was  _ very  _ verbal in Leorio’s head.

  
  


**_Fuck, yes yes yes!_ **

**_You’re doing so good that feels perfect-_ **

Oh Leorio enjoyed the praise, he enjoyed it  _ very much. _

**_So good for me, so good, I’m so close-_ **

**_Don’t stop, don’t-_ **

Both of Kurapika’s hands tangled in his hair and pressed him down as he helplessly bucked against his face and let out a guttural  _ scream.  _ Leorio’s head quickly filled with nothing but nonsensical babble and Kurapika’s thighs squeezed around his head so tightly it felt like it would explode. He felt his walls pulse around his fingers and eagerly lapped up everything that spilled from him.

When Kurapika’s thighs began to tremble and he began to whimper from over-sensitivity, he slowly extricated his fingers and sat back on his heel, watching Kurapika’s face as he stuck them in his mouth and sucked off the juices.

Kurapika, flushed and panting, pulled him down and kissed him, licking into his mouth like he was trying to taste himself on Leorio’s tongue. Leorio groaned, tangling his fingers in the blonde’s hair and pressing his hardness against Kurapika’s hip.

Kurapika petted his hair and pulled away to kiss his stubbly jaw, hands stroking over his biceps and down his chest.

**_So good, you did so good Leorio..._ **

**“Fuck,”** He shivered, his free hands clenching in the blankets, “ _ Kurapika…” _

**_Should I reward you? Good boys get rewards, don’t they?_ **

Leorio bit his lip and  _ whined. _

_ Please, Kurapika- _

**_You even know your manners. Such a good, good boy._ **

Kurapika threw a leg over one of Leorio’s and bit his neck harshly, using Leorio’s reaction of surprise to throw around his body weight and switch their positions.

Stunned at the sudden change, Leorio barely had time to prepare himself as Kurapika stripped him of his only remaining item of clothing and settled between his legs. 

He nipped and sucked at the tight muscles of his lower belly, dragging his nails against his thighs. He made sultry eye contact with Leorio as he tucked his hair behind his ear and even just  _ that  _ made his cock twitch.

Kurapika finally,  _ blessedly,  _ wrapped his hand around him and gave him a firm stroke, the energy from Kurapika’s hand buzzing against his skin. His hips jolted and he cursed, digging his hands into the bedding. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

**_Look at me._ **

Leorio blinked and craned his neck, and practically came undone as he watched himself disappear between plush lips.

Kurapika’s mouth was hot and wet and it took everything in his power not to buck into it like a madman.

Kurapika’s tongue pressed against the sensitive vein under the head of him and he hissed, throwing an arm across his face. Kurapika pulled back a bit and slurped obscenely at the tip, lapping up the precum that bubbled up.

He slowly took more and more of Leorio into his mouth and hummed around him like he was tasting something gourmet. Leorio gave an involuntary buck of his hips and nearly lost his shit as Kurapika easily took him deeper, his nose burying in the wiry dark hair at his base.

Kurapika grabbed the one hand that he could reach and guided it to the back of his head as he pulled off almost completely.

**_Go ahead. You earned it._ **

The noise that rose out of Leorio’s chest was more growl than groan as he fisted his hand in blonde locks and yanked him down on his cock.

Kurapika gagged just a bit but patted his thigh encouragingly, and Leorio repeated the motion, his eyes rolling back in his head as this throat constricted around him.

The witch’s hand cupped and rolled his balls, and he hollowed his cheeks as he sucked. Leorio bucked up as he brought Kurapika’s head down, building a steady rhythm.

He was already embarrassingly close, the coil in his belly tightening unbearably. Another day he would have been ashamed, but between the tension that had been building between them all week, the eroticism of Kurapika's domineering bedroom behavior, and the buzzing, sizzling energy the witch was sending straight through him was taking him apart piece by piece.

Kurapika looked up through his lashes and made eye contact with him as Leorio urged him to bob faster.

**_Are you going to cum for me?_ **

Leorio tried to answer but couldn't even formulate a coherent thought as he planted his feet and bucked his hips harshly.

**_Come on, you can do better than that._ **

Leorio's other hand tangled in Kurapika’s hair and he forced him down and kept him there, making little tears form at the corners of his eyes as he gagged around him.

**_Good boy._ **

Leorio died.

He died and went to heaven and was revived and then died again.

He let out a raucous, loud string of curses and praises and  _ Kurapika's  _ as the band snapped within him and he was spurting hot and thick down the blonde’s throat.

The witch had the nerve to  _ moan  _ as he swallowed him down and sucked him dry. Leorio saw stars, quite nearly blacking out from the pleasure as his hands went slack on his head.

By the time Kurapika pulled off of him he felt like his limbs were made of jelly and his head was empty. His eyes fluttered open- he didn't remember closing them- and he watched as Kurapika gathered the cum that had dribbled down his chin with his thumb and stuck it in his mouth. He cursed and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes as he tried to catch his breath.

After another moment he felt Kurapika crawl over him and flop down on his chest. Leorio opened his eyes and settled his hands on his lower back. The witch looked up at him with a deviously satisfied look on his face.

_ "You. _ You look so damn proud of yourself. You're absolutely  _ filthy." _

Kurapika’s smirk widened.

"I didn't see you complaining."

Leorio shook his head and pulled him in to get a kiss.

"You're going to be the death of me."

"At least it will be a pleasurable death."

Leorio huffed and ran a hand through his sweat-damp hair.

"I can see the headlines now.  _ Local witch sucks man's soul out of his body through his di-" _

Kurapika lightly slapped his shoulder as he settled down.

  
  


**_Shut up and go to sleep._ **

_ Yes sir. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is a universal truth that Leorio Paladiknight has a praise kink, I don't make the rules I just follow them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spooky shit this way>>>

“So let me get this straight,” Leorio crossed his arms, looking wholly offended, “You’re going out of town for two whole weeks, _abandoning me,_ to go on a vacation with the guy _I just introduced you to?”_

“Yeah,” Pietro shrugged, “What’s up?”

“What’s up? _What’s up?!”_ Leorio put his hands on his friend’s shoulders and shook him like a rag doll, “I finally get permission to investigate that creepy abandoned hotel in the Poconos and you’re _leaving me.”_

Pietro let out a long-suffering sigh, “I don’t see what the big deal is. Zepile knows how to work the camera, take hi-“

“ABSOLUTELY _NOT,”_ Came the voice of Zepile from the kitchen.

Leorio let go of Pietro and crossed his arms again, scowling.

“Why don’t you ask Kurapika? Working the camera isn’t that difficult, and he’s not a scaredy-tits like Zep.”

Leorio mulled the option over.

_Not sure he’d really be up for it…._

“I’ll ask. Have fun with your boyfriend or whatever,” he waved his hand dismissively.

  
  
  


Leorio strutted into The Odd Job that afternoon and found Killua whispering conspiratorially with a familiar teen in the corner. Pairo was at the counter, and Kurapika was nowhere he could see.

“Hey Killua, oh hi Gon! Good to see you again!”

Killua turned at looked at him as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t, but Gon looked up at him with a brilliant grin.

“Hey there, Leorio! Killua was just telling me about the time he destroyed your coffee maker.”

Leorio pursed his lips.

“Is that so? Well you crazy kids have fun, I’ll catch you later.”

He sauntered up to the counter and Pairo looked up at him curiously.

“You stole my camera man.”

“You _gave me_ your camera man.”

“Touché,” Leorio’s face spread into a wide grin, “In all seriousness, though, I’m happy things are working out between you two. P’tro’s like a brother to me. I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time.”

Pairo’s smirk melded into something softer, the mirth in his eyes mellowing out into warmth.

“I feel the same way about Pika. I’m glad you two are together. He needs someone like you to drag his ass out of this shop and make him laugh.’

Leorio swallowed and scratched the back of his neck, his ears going red at the tips.

“Speaking of, where is the boss man?”

Pairo jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “Putting away some new inventory. Go on back.”

Leorio nodded and dipped behind the counter, into the storage area.

This was the one part of the shop that Leorio had absolutely no fucking idea how it worked.

There should not have been as much space as there was, and yet _there it was_. Rows upon rows of shelves that went on far past the buildings limitations.

He found Kurapika leaning up on his toes to put something on a high shelf and Leorio pressed right up against his back, delicately plucking the item out of his hand and depositing it on the shelf with care.

“I hate how tall you are.”

Leorio smirked and put both hands on top of the shelf, caging the witch in.

“That right?”

Kurapika turned around, face flushed and petulant.

“Yes.”

“You could have easily used magic to put that up there.”

“It would have been a waste of energy.”

Kurapika’s eyes wandered down Leorio’s throat to take in his tightly fitted suit and tie.

“What’s with the suit?”

Leorio smirked, “Had a meeting earlier.”

He didn’t. 

Kurapika’s fingers stroked the length of the tie before grabbing it and pulling him in closer.

“I like it. What do you want?”

“Wh-Why do you think I want something? Can’t a man just come visit his boyfriend at work? Hm?”

Kurapika leveled him with an unimpressed gaze and Leorio tugged at his collar.

“ _Leorio.”_

He gulped.

“Ah, well. You see-“

Kurapika tilted his head, yanking his tie to signal his impatience.

“So you know how Pairo and Pietro are going out of town for a couple weeks? During that time I have a really big investigation at this neat old hotel resort in the mountains an hour and a half away… and I need a cameraman…”

Kurapika rolled his eyes and pushed the ghost hunter off of him.

“No.”

“Aw, come on,” Kurapika went about his business and Leorio trailed him like a puppy.

“Why can’t Zepile do it? Or Phinks?”

“Zepile’s too scared and the last time I let Phinks work the camera the footage was so shaky I couldn’t use any of it.”

Kurapika huffed and shook his head, “The answer is still no.”

_Alright, time to pull out the big guns._

Leorio grabbed his hand, pulling him to an abrupt stop. Kurapika turned back to look at him with a furrowed brow and Leorio put on his most charming grin. He brought the witch’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles.

“Please? Sunshine? Sweetheart? _Baby?”_ He watched as Kurapika slowly turned red and averted his gaze.

_Haha, success._

“Fine, _whatever._ When?”

“Next Wednesday!” Leorio grinned, dropping his hand in favor of grabbing his hips and pulling him close, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the big bad ghosts.”

Kurapika looked incredibly unamused as he reached up and gripped his chin, sending a mean shot of energy into him. 

“I don’t think I’m the one who needs protecting.”

“You know what? Fair,” Leorio chuckled nervously.

Kurapika’s hands wandered under Leorio’s blazer and pressed against his back.

“You owe me,” Kurapika sighed, leaning his head against Leorio’s chest.

“What would you like in return?” One of Leorio’s hands rubbed circled into his back, while the other shamelessly groped at his ass.

“I’ll cash the favor in later,” he smirked, looking up at Leorio as one of his hands came up to stroke the stubble on his jaw.

A chill went up Leorio’s spine as he leaned down to kiss Kurapika softly.

Before he could get carried away, Kurapika pulled back and pressed a finger to his lips.

“Did you need something else or can I go back to work?”

Leorio sighed and let him go, pouting as Kurapika began putting away various things in their places.

“Who’s going to help run the place while Pairo’s gone?”

“Gon is, actually.”

“You don’t say?”

“I was talking about hiring someone and Gon just happened to be within earshot. He’s been coming around a lot the last few days. He’s really taken an interest to Killua.”

“Is he even old enough to work?”

“Probably.”

Leorio sighed and shrugged, “Alright. I’m glad Killua has a friend. Must be lonely. Has he still been looking for his sister?”

Kurapika’s shoulders dropped and he nodded, turning back to him.

“Yes. He isn’t having much luck.”

“Poor kid,” Leorio ran a hand through his hair, “I guess I should get out of your hair.”

Kurapika put down his box and yanked Leorio down by his tie again, “Could I persuade you to stay for dinner?”

“Is Pairo cooking?”

Kurapika scowled.

“I’m joking. Sure, I’ll stay.”

The way Kurapika’s lips quirked up into a small grin gave Leorio palpitations.

  
  
  


“So what’s the deal with this place?” Kurapika asked from the passenger side of Pietro’s car, looking out the window.

Pietro had _generously_ let Leorio comandeer his vehicle while he was out of town to haul his equipment around in.

“So waaaaay back in the sixties and seventies a bunch of resort hotels opened up in the mountains. This place, Penn Hills, was one of the most popular. It closed down in 2009. Places like this were advertised as lovers’ hideaways,” Leorio slowed down the car as they approached the half-burnt structure.

“Kind of weird.”

“Yeah, well they all kind of turned into drug dens and such. Violence, prostitution, etc. After they closed down, some occultists came in and did rituals, or so I’m told. That’s probably why it’s haunted as hell.”

Kurapika sighed and shook his head, “It’s a good thing I brought sage, you reckless asshole.”

Leorio pouted as he parked.

They both exited the car and grabbed the bags of equipment. Leorio couldn’t help but stare as the late afternoon sun turned Kurapika’s hair into fire.

  
  


“Not much of a building left to explore, is there?” Kurapika asked as they made their way up to the destroyed main building.

“There’s been like three fires since this place closed. None of them have been explained.”

“Hmm…”

Leorio could already feel his skin beginning to crawl with that unmistakable feeling of being watched.

“One thing’s for certain,” he turned to look around, “There’s definitely something here.”

  
  
  


Leorio’s pockets were stuffed with devices and Kurapika had his hands full with the camera as they left their makeshift base camp. 

The floor was completely covered in debris, flyers from decades past and files that seem to have just exploded from their cabinets.

“This is so awkward.”

“What’s so awkward about it?” Leorio chuckled, “It’s not like _you’re_ on camera. Just ask me questions about the place. Are you recording?”

“Yes. Okay so why did this place shut down?”

Leorio didn’t bother turning back to look at the camera as they made their way into one of the various wings of honeymoon suites.

“The owner died, he was like one-hundred and _two_ or something crazy like that. Place shut down two months later,” he paused and turned his head seeing something out of the corner of his eye. Kurapika seemed to pick up on it as well.

“Did you see-“

“Yeah. Anyway… Apparently he hadn’t paid the taxes on this place for over a decade so the city got to keep all of it… and then just let it rot like this. Employees never got their last paycheck.”

“That’s… wow. Maybe the employees are the ones haunting this place.”

Leorio rolled his eyes and shook his head. He felt a burst of cold air and pulled out his EMF detector. As soon as he switched it on, all six of the lights on top lit up from green to red.

“Well, I don’t know about employees, but it would seem we are not the only guests right now.”

The energy felt curious if anything, coy in a way. They both turned towards a door as it opened right in front of them.

“Think that was an invitation?”

“It would appear so.”

They wandered into the ruined hotel suite. Part of the roof was collapsed and the afternoon sun poured in from the opening. The room was odd and large, with a disgusting jacuzzi tub in the corner and a giant, canopied, circle-shaped bed.

“Ugh…. tacky.”

Leorio laughed at Kurapika’s disgusted face.

“Oh please, this is the _height_ of romance. Are you saying you wouldn’t be wooed if I brought you to a classy place like this?”

“I would hex you again if you ever brought me to a corny place like this.”

Leorio was about to retort when suddenly the curtains around the bed began to sway. For a moment it appeared as though they caught on the silhouette of a woman, kneeling on the bed.

“Did you- _please tell me_ you got that on camera-“

“Oh I did. I definitely did.”

Leorio fished a device that looked like a hockey puck with a speaker. He flipped a switch and the room was filled with loud white noise.

“Ugh, I _hate this thing,”_ Kurapika scowled, looking up from the screen on the camera.

Leorio rolled his eyes, “I know it’s noisy but the Spirit Box gives me some of my best evidence,” He wandered closer to the bed, “What’s your name?”

There was nothing but warbled mumbling across the white noise.

“Well I heard _something._ Can you say your name again please? Speak into the device in my hand.”

The cold burst of energy got stronger and suddenly there was a melodic, _“Palm.”_

“Palm, huh? That’s a really unique name. Why are you here, Palm?”

There was a few minutes of quiet and Leorio almost gave up when the spirit spoke across the frequencies again, “ _-urdered.”_

Leorio and Kurapika shared a look of morbid surprise. A chill went down his spine and his hair stood on end.

“Palm, who murdered you?!”

All of a sudden the energy dissipated and the spirit box quieted.

“Damn, she’s gone…”

_Poor thing. I hope she can find peace._

  
  


As the sun went down, the pair continued to move throughout the buildings. Kurapika turned on the night vision setting on the camera and they both carefully maneuvered in the dark. Leorio had replaced the noisy spirit box with a simple recorder at Kurapika’s behest. 

“This- Was this an _ice skating rink?”_

“Looks like it. Man, they had it _all.”_

There was a sudden _crack_ sound from somewhere nearby and they both turned in that direction.

“Leorio… the ceiling in this part of the building… Is it even safe to be in here?”

“I mean. That depends on your definition of the word _safe.”_

Leorio watched Kurapika roll his eyes in the light of the camera’s LCD screen.

“Don’t worry, the odds of the roof caving in on _this day_ of all days is super slim.”

“But not zero. You’re either the bravest idiot I’ve ever met or just the biggest.”

“It’s part of my charm.”

"Ridicu-"

Someone got picked up and thrown at them, clattering at their feet. They both jumped, Leorio’s heart racing a mile a minute.

"What the hell was that?!"

Kurapika peered through the viewfinder at the floor and kicked at whatever it was with his boot.

"Looks like a skate."

"Damn, that was thrown pretty hard," he turned on the recorder and held it up, “Who was it that threw that skate?”

He whipped his head around, feeling energy dart from place to place, “Why are you here?” 

He paused for a few minutes and then stopped the recorder, hitting the button for playback and holding it up to his ear.

_“Who was it that threw that skate?”... “_ **_It was me.”_ ** _… “Why are you here?”... “_ **_Get OUT.”_ **

Leorio’s skin crawled and he felt his stomach lurch.

“Fuck,” he held the recorder up to the camera’s microphone and replayed the audio again.

“Seems we aren’t wanted here,” Kurapika mused, seemingly unaffected.

There was another crash and Leorio stumbled backwards, almost tripping over an old, smashed television set.

“Maybe… maybe we should move on.”

Kurapika sighed, “Where to next?”

“Would you rather see the gross wedding-bell shaped pool or ‘ _Cupid’s Lounge’?”_ Leorio snorted.

“Wedding- _what?_ The lounge.”

Leorio nodded and led the way, the hair on his arms and neck still standing on end and his stomach twisting with nerves.

  
  


“Why the hell is the bar covered in padded vinyl?”

“Comfort? I don’t know. This _was_ a swinger’s resort. Maybe they had orgies on the bar?”

“Gross,” the witch backed away from the counter quickly.

Leorio turned his head as he sensed energy following behind them. It felt the same as what they had encountered in the rink.

**“Get. Out.”**

“Did you-“

“Yeah I heard it,” Kurapika slowly panned the camera towards the energy.

“If you want us to leave, manifest yourself.”

Slowly, the staticky blackness of the room shifted and Leorio could see the outline of a man with no discernible features.

“Kurapika-“

“I can see it with my eyes but not on the viewfinder.”

_How can he sound so calm?!_

The figure stepped closer and Leorio instinctively stepped back.

“Idiot, hold your ground. If this guy means us harm he’ll use your fear as a weakness.”

He swallowed thickly and stepped closer to Kurapika. Suddenly the figure was gone from his vision but he felt the energy surround them. He suddenly felt lightheaded and sick to his stomach.

He’d felt this before, he knew what it meant. The spirit was trying to get inside him, to use his body. Usually, they used him to speak out their stories. Occasionally they’d give him thoughts of violence.

But this one seemed to be struggling to grab onto him. He looked down at the bracelet Kurapika had made for him and was suddenly thankful for it.

“-eorio? Hey!” Kurapika grabbed his wrist with his free hand and shook him.

“What?” He shook his head, he could feel a headache coming on.

“You’ve been standing there staring at your hands for like ten minutes, mumbling nonsense.”

Kurapika twined their fingers together tightly and he felt warmth flow through him, the oppressive energy of the spirit leaving him.

“I think it’s time to go.”

“But-“ Leorio could see Kurapika’s eyes flash dangerously in the dark.

“Don’t push your luck. If you’re right about rituals taking place here, there might be things that can break past the barrier of the bracelet I gave you. Things I’d need more than sage for.”

Leorio sighed and nodded.

“Alright. I think I’ve got enough footage anyway.”

  
  


They walked quickly back to their base camp and cleaned up, feeling eyes on them the whole time. Kurapika lit a bundle of sage and smudged them both before they left the building. 

Even as they loaded up the car, Leorio had that adrenaline running through his veins. It made him restlessly tap his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove back out of the hills.

They were silent for several miles, until Kurapika’s hand slid over onto his knee.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Got a mean headache though. I just hope there's a decent amount of evidence in the footage," He sighed, glancing away from the road for only a moment to look at him, "thanks again for helping me out."

The hand on his knee squeezed.

"Of course. Admittedly it was kind of fun, watching you nearly jump through the roof. You're adorable when you're scared."

Leorio's ears burned. 

"Ah shuddap…"

  
  
  


Leorio parked outside the shop and Kurapika put his hand on the door handle and raised a brow when the ghost hunter didn't do the same.

"Not coming in?"

"Oh- I mean I can if you want me to," he flushed and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

Kurapika rolled his eyes and stepped out of the car. It took Leorio a minute to figure out whether he was actually being invited in or not, but he quickly made sure none of the expensive equipment was visible before getting out and locking the car.

  
  


Inside and upstairs Kurapika dragged him straight to the bed and pushed him down, crawling on top of him. He laid on him like a blanket, legs tangled, and Leorio flushed. He instinctively settled his hands on his ass and squeezed. The witch moaned and huffed.

And then he pulled out his phone.

"What do you want for dinner? I'll order something."

"Oh. Uh," Leorio blinked.

Kurapika arched a brow at him, "What did you think I just dragged you up here to fuck?"

"I mean… kind of."

They hadn't done much of anything since the night of the get together at Leorio’s place.

Kurapika rolled his eyes and sat up, straddling one of his thighs and looking down at him with contempt.

"Sorry to disappoint. But since we're on the subject," he sat his phone down and slid a slender hand up Leorio’s broad chest, making him swallow around a lump in his throat.

"Uh?"

"You're really very good with your mouth," he purred, his eyes lidded. His hand slid up his neck and cupped his chin, thumb swiping over his bottom lip.

"O-oh?" Leorio’s pulse thrummed in his veins and he cleared his throat.

"Mhm. I have no doubt you're probably good with other things as well," his eyes glided down his body, "And I'd very much like to see for myself. However-"

"However?"

"I have some stipulations."

Leorio blinked and tilted his head, "Alright, what are they?"

Kurapika rocked his hips against Leorio’s thigh, suggestively.

"You've got to get tested. I've already done so recently."

"Tested? _Oh._ Yeah sure, I can do that. What else?"

"Well that one really ties in to the next. I don't like condoms."

"Uh.. not for nothing but-"

Kurapika put a finger over his lips, buzzing with energy, and he shut up.

"Don't worry, I'm incapable of creating life the old fashioned way," he laid back down and pillowed his head on his arms, staring directly into Leorio’s eyes, "If you're really not comfortable otherwise, I can deal. _But."_

"But?" Leorio gulped as Kurapika’s gaze became almost predatory, cheeks flushed.

"But I'd really rather feel you cum inside me."

A heatwave shot through Leorio and he positively _burned_ from head to toe, desire curling in his belly.

_His bluntness is going to kill me._

"I'm- that's… okay, yeah, that's fi-" Kurapika rolled his hips, smirking, and Leorio choked on his own spit.

"Now that that's settled… If you're a good boy and help me order dinner, I'll let you eat me for dessert."

Leorio cursed and stuck out his hand, sitting up.

"Let me see the app."

  
  


Later on, full and sated and under the covers, Leorio stared up at the ceiling with a furrowed brow and a witch curled into his side.

"So does that mean you can create life in a different way? Can you just manifest a person?"

Kurapika groaned and hit him with a pillow.

"Go to _sleep."_

  
  


Leorio thought about that all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penn Hills Resort was a real place!!! There's tons of urbex videos on YouTube about it! The whole thing has been demolished now I think but man was it cool.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jealousy is one hell of a drug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me writing anything: OK how can I make Chrollo the biggest problem here.
> 
> I'm sorry in advance. Uh-

The amount of evidence from the Penn Hills investigation was much larger than Leorio had expected. The camera footage and audio had a whole host of things hidden within when Leorio watched it back.

The video was _very_ popular, but admittedly most of the comments were about the mystery camera operator and their flirtatious banter. Kurapika was unimpressed.

  
  


It had been a few days.

Pairo and Pietro were still out of town. Leorio slept over at Kurapika’s more often than not, but this was one of the days he hadn’t.

He meandered down the street toward The Odd Job that afternoon, a bag of takeout in one hand. One of the shops caught his eye and he paused in his steps.

The storefront was completely blank, other than a big sign on the door that said _Coming Soon! Lucilfer’s Magick and Gifts._

_Another occult shop?_

He peaked in the window where a few workers were setting up shelves and display cases. Seemingly bossing them around was a man with slicked back hair and a forehead tattoo. He was dressed head to toe in black leather, from the high collar of his jacket to the soles of his boots. Even his hands were covered. He happened to turn towards the window and locked gazes with Leorio.

There was something about the man’s eyes that truly unnerved Leorio. They were so silver-grey it appeared as though the color had been sucked right out of his irises. 

They must have stood there for ages, staring at one another, before the man flashed a smile at him and raised a hand in greeting. A chill ran down his spine and he nodded in return, swiftly turning and walking away.

_That was fuckin’ weird…_

  
  


_“_ Ding-Dong!” Leorio mocked the tinkling bell on the door, marching up to the counter where Kurapika, Gon, and Killua huddled as the cash drawer was counted.

“Hey Leorio! You brought the food right? I’m starving!” Gon bounced from foot to foot behind the counter.

“Yeah, yeah I got everything. Fried rice, egg rolls, the works.”

Kurapika closed the cash drawer and snapped his fingers, magically locking the door and dimming the lights.

“Alright, let’s head upstairs.”

  
  


Kurapika and Leorio sat on the couch while Gon took the floor, Killua hovering at his side. They spread the food out over the coffee table and dug in.

After idle chatter about the customers they’d served and the classes Leorio’d taken that day, they lapsed into silence for a moment.

Leorio cleared his throat and sat back, wiping his hands on a napkin.

“So… I noticed on the way in that there’s a new occult shop opening up like a block from here.”

Kurapika’s fork paused on the way to his mouth and the witch pursed his lips.

“You don’t say…”

Gon and Killua exchanged shrugs of confusion.

“Yeah. I think I saw the owner. Some prick with a forehead tattoo,” Leorio shook his head as a shiver rippled up his spine, “Had these wild ass eyes. They were almost white.”

Kurapika sat his fork down and sat back, crossing his legs and rubbing his chin.

“Sounds like a warlock… Damn…”

“What’s a warlock?” Gon tilted his head curiously.

“Isn’t that just a dumb gender-specific name for a witch?” Killua stretched his arms behind his translucent head.

Kurapika shook his head, lips pressed into a thin line.

“In some cultures the terms are used interchangeably, however… originally… Warlock was the name given to traitors- blood-witches who ratted out their fellow covenmates to save themselves from suspicion. These witches saw divine retribution from the goddess herself as she stripped them of the powers they were born with and took away the color in their eyes so everyone would know what they’d done.”

“Whoa…” Leorio scratched the back of his head, “That’s pretty heavy stuff.”

Kurapika nodded and sighed, “The warlocks all had their entire families suffer the same fate, on and on for generations. Eventually some of the warlocks aligned themselves with darker forces in order to get their power back. They generally aren’t nice people, and having one in the neighborhood makes me anxious.”

Leorio hummed, fingers coming up to rub the tension out of the base of Kurapika’s neck.

“I’m sure he’s probably just here to make an honest living. Let’s just hope he doesn’t steal all of your business.”

Kurapika scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, “My customers are loyal. I have no worries about them continuing to buy from me.”

“There’s nothing like a little friendly competition,” Gon insisted around his mouth full of food. Killua zapped his cheek.

“Close your mouth, dummy.”

“ _Killua.”_

Leorio sighed and shook his head.

“At any rate… I’m sure this won’t cause any problems.”

  
  
  


“Look’s like that other occult shop finally opened up,” Leorio mentioned as he toed off his shoes.

Kurapika’s head snapped up, “Put your shoes back on, we’re going to check it out.”

Leorio sighed and slid them back on, slipping the folded up paper that had his test results in his hand back in his pocket.

“Alright. Are we going to check out the competition?”

“Something like that,” Leorio watched as he threw on a denim jacket and shoved a bunch of rocks in his pockets. He knew they were for protection but it still made him chuckle.

  
  


Lucilfer’s Magick and Gifts was a pretty hopping place, filled with all sorts of people curious about the new shop.

The interior was decorated pleasantly, but as soon as Leorio passed through the door he wanted to leave.

_There's something horribly suffocating about the energy in here._

He instinctively linked his hand with Kurapika’s and gently nudged at his mind.

_Hey.. this place… I really don't like the vibe I'm getting here._

**_I don't either to be honest. We won't stay long._ **

Kurapika squeezed Leorio’s hand as he led him through the crowd. Someone grabbed Leorio by the sleeve and shouted his name and suddenly he was surrounded. Kurapika pressed right up against his side, clearly uncomfortable with the close proximity of the crowd.

He answered as many questions as he could, as congenially as he could, which became difficult as some of them made rude comments about the blonde plastered to him.

The sea of customers parted for the leather-clad owner, who seemed genuinely curious as to what was going on. He stepped up to the pair and Leorio watched recognition flood his face as they locked eyes.

“Well, Mr. Paladiknight, what a truly special surprise,” He smiled, and though it was a charming one, it made Leorio even more wary, “I never expected to have a famous YouTuber grace my humble little store.”

**_Posh asshole._ **

Leorio had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing.

“Uh, hey, nice place.”

Just like with Kurapika, Leorio couldn’t outright sense this guy’s energy but his general vibe was so unnerving that he determined he probably didn’t want to feel it anyway.

“Chrollo Lucilfer,” the man tilted his head and offered his hand, “I’m the owner here. Can I help you find something in particular?”

He went to return the handshake but Kurapika, who until now had remained quiet and _ignored,_ tightened his grip on Leorio’s hand until it hurt.

**_Do not._ **

Leorio awkwardly brushed off the handshake and motioned towards the witch.

“Oh no, no we’re all good. Sunshine here runs the occult shop down the street.”

Chrollo’s crystal eyes finally drifted to Kurapika and his smile suddenly felt a lot more disingenuous.

“Is that so?”

Leorio watched them have a full on stare down, the energy flowing into him from Kurapika’s hand so strong and furious I made his joints ache.

Clearly the whole crowd was picking up on the weird tension in the room, many having begun recording.

Chrollo finally looked back up at Leorio, a smirk settled on his lips and his eyes lidded as he crossed his arms over his chest.

He leaned in, and Leorio’s ears flushed as he blatantly eyed him from head to toe.

“Well if you’re ever looking for something _truly_ magical, I’d be more than happy to assist you.”

Leorio didn’t really know how to respond to that. 

_Is he flirting with me?!_

Next to him he could feel Kurapika’s energy leaking into the atmosphere, jealous and fiery. His hair had begun to lift with the force of it and he knew without looking that his eyes were bleeding red. 

Not wanting to cause a further scene and potentially put others in the way of harm, Leorio wrapped his arm tight around his boyfriend’s waist, turning to usher him towards the door.

“Uh, thanks! _Have a good day,”_ He smiled, waving to the crowd.

  
  


As soon as they were back outside, Leorio felt that heaviness lift off of him and he was finally able to take a deep breath.

He turned towards Kurapika who was still silently fuming.

“Are you alright?”

He said nothing and that made something nervous clench in his stomach.

"Sweetheart?" He nearly tripped as Kurapika picked up the pace, practically dragging him back to the shop.

  
  


By the time they had arrived back up to Kurapika’s apartment, there was a huge bubble of tension in the air and Leorio found himself in the middle of it, pressed right up against the door.

He blinked down at the positively murderous witch.

"Are you-"

"I _really_ don't like the way he looked at you."

"What are you-"

Kurapika gripped his jacket collar in both of his hands and yanked him down, nose to nose. 

"Dont play dumb, it doesn't suit you. His eyes were all over you," he leaned up on his toes and mouthed at his neck, "Shamelessly flirting with you like I wasn't right there."

He sunk his teeth into the sensitive skin below Leorio’s ear and he knocked his head back against the door as he moaned.

"I never _nngh…_ Never pegged you for the jealous type," the ghost hunter’s hands glided up his sides and pulled him closer.

"It's bad enough that he's invaded _my_ territory, but making passes at another magic-user's lover _?_ Absolutely shameless," Leorio closed his eyes and let out a rumbling groan as Kurapika sucked and bit marks all the way down the side of his throat.

"What are you going to do about it?" He smirked, unable to resist the urge to rile him up further. 

His eyes flashed dangerously and Leorio’s stomach did somersaults.

"That depends," Kurapika licked his lips and Leorio followed the motion with his eyes, "Did you get your results back?"

Leorio swallowed thickly and fished the paper out of his pocket. Kurapika took it and unfolded it, eyes scanning the page rapidly. His smirk widened and he tossed it over his shoulder.

"Good boy," he narrowed his eyes and tugged Leorio along, "In that case, _I'm going to ride you until you can no longer tell where I end and you begin."_

" _Fuck,"_ Leorio groaned, shaking his head as he let himself be stripped and pushed onto the bed, content to be at the other’s mercy.

He propped himself up on his elbows and watched Kurapika shed his clothes with feline grace that would make even Pairo jealous.

He climbed onto the bed and straddled Leorio’s chest, peering down at him like a lion with trapped prey. Leorio’s eyes wantonly raked down his chest to his tattooed thigh and everywhere in between.

"I'm going to make you fuck me until the only name you remember is mine," he purred, scraping his nails against Leorio’s chest and making him shudder and grab on to his thighs, "But first I'm going to ride your face until I'm the only thing you can taste anymore."

"Bold promises," he smirked, teasing even as he arched his hips into nothing, "Think you can really deliver on all that?"

_Maybe I do have a death wish._

He gulped as Kurapika scowled and hooked a thumb into his mouth, "I always make good on my threats."

The zap of energy against his tongue reinforced that statement and Leorio was caught so tight between arousal and fear that he couldn't differentiate the two.

Kurapika scooted so that he had a knee on either side of Leorio’s head, one hand fisting in dark hair and the other grabbing onto the headboard. He yanked on Leorio’s hair, flushing from his hairline down to his navel.

" _Well?"_

Leorio cursed and grabbed his ass, pulling him right down onto his face. His tongue lapped at his folds, swirling around his clit. He dipped his tongue inside his entrance and listened as the blonde’s pleased sighs turned into outright moans.

He pulled back for breath but Kurapika held him in place, grinding against his face. He slipped his tongue back inside, nose brushing and bumping against his clit.

Kurapika’s musky juices slicked up Leorio’s lips and chin and he let out a startled gasp as the brunette slurped at his entrance. Leorio hummed against him as his thighs squeezed around his head. He could feel his stubble dragging along the witch’s sensitive skin, no doubt scrubbing it raw. Kurapika didn't seem to mind, if anything it spurred him on.

The blonde’s hand dropped his hair and joined the other on the headboard as he arched his back, humping against his mouth with abandon.

Leorio managed to slip a couple of fingers inside him, pumping and curling and stretching until Kurapika’s muscles pulsed around them and he came all over his face with a choked gasp.

The ghost hunter moaned into his sopping cunt as he lapped up the sticky fluid. He expected him to scoot down but all he did was lift himself up on his knees to admire Leorio’s swollen lips. He slid his hand between his legs and then stuck a couple of fingers in Leorio’s mouth. He shuddered and groaned as his tongue swirled around the digits. He pulled them out and scissored them in front of Leorio’s eyes, strings of spit and cum stretching and breaking between them. 

Leorio’s cock twitched against his stomach as Kurapika slowly lowered himself back down.

**_Again_ **.

Leorio muttered a curse against him as he gave gentle, tiny licks against his clit, trying not to overstimulate him.

Kurapika’s legs trembled around him and he was panting, eagerly rocking his hips against Leorio’s tongue.

**_So good, your mouth was made for me._ **

The blonde’s absolutely _sinful_ voice in his head made him positively dizzy with the praise.

Kurapika reached behind himself and gave Leorio’s neglected erection a few short strokes, making him moan helplessly into his heat.

As if Kurapika wasn't already an absolute spitfire in bed, this whole jealousy rampage he was on was saturating the air and driving the ghost hunter crazy. He pulled his hips down harder and licked into him as if his life depended on it. 

Maybe it did.

He sucked the tight little nub of nerves into his mouth and tongued at it. He could sense Kurapika rapidly approaching orgasm again and he doubled his efforts, fucking him with his tongue until he was a babbling mess. Before he could coast over the edge though, he swiftly sat up on his knees, legs shaking as he moved back down.

He kissed Leorio like he was starving, sucking his tongue and biting his lips. Leorio groaned as he sat right over his dick, sliding back and forth until they both couldn't handle the tease anymore. 

Kurapika sat up, one hand braced on Leorio’s abs, the other stroking his swollen clit for a moment before taking hold of Leorio and guiding him to his entrance.

Leorio squeezed the blonde’s hips and hissed as tight, wet heat surrounded him inch by scorching inch.

Kurapika threw his head back, toes curling and walls fluttering as he bottomed out.

Leorio had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to keep himself grounded but the sultry voice in the back of his mind nearly undid him right then and there.

**_So big for me,_ ** Kurapika raised himself up until only the thick head was still inside and then slammed down until they were flush together again, **_You feel so good filling me up like this._ **

" _Kurapika,"_ he gripped his hips until they threatened to bruise, "If you keep saying shit like that I'll lose it."

He bucked up into him as he came down again, wiping the smirk off his face and eliciting a strangled moan.

Kurapika grinded against him, slow and dirty, a hand pushing his damp bangs back from his face.

Leorio took in his sweat-slick skin, bitten lips, and the tell-tale stubble burn between his legs and tried to commit everything to memory. 

He cursed as Kurapika gave a wicked grin and clamped down on him suddenly, making him plant his feet and hold his hips down as he thrusted up into him.

Kurapika practically shrieked, finally losing some of his carefully crafted control.

He bounced on him quickly, his voice a jumbled mess in Leorio’s head.

One singular coherent thought somehow found its way out of Kurapika’s mouth and turned Leorio inside out.

" **_I'll make you wish you could live inside me."_ **

Leorio growled and lifted Kurapika off of him as he _snapped,_ earning himself a nasty glare and a set of nails sinking into his shoulder. He rolled and switched their positions, hiking Kurapika’s legs up on his shoulders. The blonde gave an indignant huff and squirmed as Leorio pressed his thumb against his opening, feeling him contract around nothing.

" _You."_

Leorio took himself in hand and rubbed his tip against Kurapika’s clit.

"You and your filthy mouth," he groaned, sinking back into his heat in one brutal thrust, "are going to kill me."

Kurapika’s eyes fluttered shut and he _whined_ as Leorio pulled out and just barely dipped back in.

"What do you want?" He leaned down, folding the witch in half as he sucked at his neck and chest, "I'll be so _good_ for you Kurapika but I want you to tell me what you need."

Kurapika arched and cursed, nails scraping up his back as he tried to press Leorio’s cock further within him.

" _Leorio,"_ he looked up at the blonde's red face, "Be a good boy and _fuck me_ now."

Leorio shuddered and slammed into him, working up a punishing pace. He groaned as he watched Kurapika's eyes cross at a particularly deep thrust.

Kurapika’s stormy orbs squeezed shut and his mouth dropped open as Leorio pistoned into him.

**_Yes- just like that-_ **

**_You're so good to me, you fit so perfectly inside me-_ **

Leorio moaned, the coils in his gut winding tighter.

_Kurapika…_

**_I'm going to keep you in this bed until every inch of you smells like me, until I can't even walk straight._ **

Leorio faltered in his thrusts and moaned into the witch’s shoulder.

Kurapika’s fingers petted his hair encouragingly and he leaned up to suck on Leorio’s earlobe.

"Come on, you don't want to disappoint me, do you?"

" _Fuck,"_ he pushed himself back up on to his elbows, rutting in to him like it was the only chance he'd ever get, "Kurapika _baby-"_

The witch let out a pleased hum and tossed his head from side to side as he resumed his thrusts. With every thrust Kurapika’s walls tried to suck him further in and keep him there. By the time Leorio approached his climax, he really _didn't_ know where they ended and began.

He pressed reverent, open-mouthed kisses to his neck and jaw, reaching between them to rub tight circles over his clit.

Kurapika began to tense, holding on tighter with his arms and legs. He furrowed his brow in concentration, obviously holding back as best he could. 

**_Leorio._ **

"Guh?" He blinked, trying to push through the haze.

Kurapika took his face with trembling, sweaty hands and forced him to stare into his swirling grey and red eyes.

**_Now be a good boy and cum inside me._ **

Leorio absolutely lost his shit.

He gave a snarl and adjusted his angle, slamming into him now just for the sake of chasing his own pleasure, which seemed to be exactly what Kurapika was aiming for.

The blonde babbled out praise after praise both out loud and in his head. He moaned absolute nonsense until Leorio was pressed flush against him and filling him up with his release. 

Kurapika _screamed,_ finally letting himself tip over the edge again as he squirmed beneath him. Leorio continued to thrust into him harshly, if only to hear the lewd squelching sound they made as they came together.

Fully spent, he slowly pulled out and sat back as Kurapika’s legs tumbled from his shoulders. He watched as the witch’s dripping hole desperately clenched in an attempt to keep his cum inside. The visual was so dirty he felt the need to shove a couple of fingers inside and stir it up, making the witch gasp and whimper his name. 

He pulled his fingers out and licked them clean before attempting to stand from the bed, only to be grabbed by the wrist and pulled back down.

"Where...do you think…" Kurapika panted, his voice wrecked and his face looking absolutely fucked out, "You're going?"

Leorio gulped.

"To… get a towel?"

Kurapika shook his head, pulling him down to suck and scrape his teeth over his bottom lip.

"I'm not done with you yet."

_Fuck._

  
  


Kurapika made good on every single one of his threats that night.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The leokuro is Mars' fault if anyone asks. 
> 
> Jealous pika is v fun to write 😩👌  
> 
> 
> Hi sylvie how much did you bark?


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people just can’t take a fucking hint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait, and that this is a short chapter. I promise the next will be longer and far more entertaining!

A couple of weeks passed and things fell into a semblance of a routine.

During the week Leorio took his classes, recorded videos, and goofed off with his friends. On the weekends he would help out at the shop and sleep over there.

In the spare time that he had, Leorio tried to locate Killua’s family. Not much was coming up yet, but he knew they had to be out there somewhere, and was determined to track them down.

Pairo and Pietro were almost disgustingly enamored with one another which was both a curse and a blessing. Double dates were fun, being ignored by your best friend and cameraman while they ran off to fuck for the third time in a day was not.

  
  


Lucilfer’s Magick and Gifts was still a strange enigma to Leorio and it made him uneasy every time he passed the shop on the way to and from Kurapika’s place. The witch had warned him to steer clear of the warlock. And Leorio was happy to oblige,  _ however… _

Leorio was utterly incapable of being blatantly rude to the man. So whenever he happened to walk by as the owner of the shop was leaving or arriving and gave him a heady look and a crisp hello, he couldn’t  _ not  _ say it back.

The manners his Nana had drilled into him refused to let up.

  
  


“Mr. Paladiknight, good morning,” Chrollo flashed him a grin as he turned the key in his door.

“Morning,” he nodded his head politely as he passed.

“Oh- Mr. Paladiknight, I’m truly sorry to ask but it’s just myself in the shop today and I have a couple of rather heavy boxes that need to be put away. I have quite a nasty back injury, would you mind-“

“Uh,” Leorio blinked, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“If not, it's alright, I just thought I’d ask. You seem like the helpful type.” 

_I mean_ _I_ _guess_ _it wouldn't_ _hurt._

"Uh sure, I can take care of that for you."

"Excellent! Follow me."

Leorio shoved his hands in his pockets and walked into the shop behind him.

Leorio was hit with that positively  _ nauseating  _ energy as soon as he crossed the threshold. He took a deep breath and did his best to block it out. 

He followed Chrollo into the backroom and up to a stack of large boxes.

"They just need to go on the top shelf over there," the warlock leaned back against a wall, crossing his arms.

Leorio stretched before grabbing the sides of the first box and lifting with his knees. He could feel eyes on his backside and his ears heated.

"So, Mr. Paladiknight, how have you been? I confess I've been rather busy of late and haven't been able to catch up on your videos."

"Uh, I'm alright thanks for asking. I didn't realize you were a subscriber," he shifted the weight of the box in his arms as he crossed the room to put it away.

"I'm a long-time fan," Chrollo smirked, "How's your little blonde witch friend?"

Leorio looked up tentatively as he came back to the stack of boxes and grabbed another.

"My  _ boyfriend  _ is doing very well, thank you for your concern," as he walked back towards the shelf he felt the energy in the air shift and it kind of felt like the box was suddenly much heavier. He grunted as he lifted the box up onto the shelf.

"Yes, of course. I remember the last couple of videos of yours that I watched where you dabbled in the craft. I assume he's been teaching you?"

"He has," Leorio arched a brow, bringing one more box over and lifting it up, "why do you-"

Leorio turned back around and found Chrollo right up close to him. He backed up against the shelf and Chrollo crowded into his space, looking up at him with a sultry grin. Leorio gulped.

_ Oh fuck. _

"You know, if you're in the market for a teacher in the arcane, I'm sure I could-"

"Oh, uh no! I mean, uh that's alright, I don't really-" Chrollo slipped a knee between his thighs and Leorio choked on his own breath. He shook his head and firmly grabbed the man by the shoulders, pushing him back.

"I- look I'm sorry but I can only handle one spitfire magic-user at once and I'm very satisfied with the particular one I already have."

Chrollo’s silver gaze went from amused to ticked off. He backed up and scowled, "Ah, yes. Forgive me, it seems I've overstepped."

Leorio nodded and quickly brushed past him, back into the shop-proper. Chrollo followed him all the way to the door. 

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me. Let's hope you don't regret your choice."

The ominous words made something sour and apprehensive settle in Leorio’s gut.

“Um, have a good one,” he quickly dipped out the door, ignoring the way Chrollo’s eyes burned into his back.

He made a beeline for The Odd Job, feeling all kinds of out-of-sorts.

_ Why’d I have to be the nice guy? _

  
  


When he arrived at the shop, he said hello to Killua, Gon, and Pairo at the counter before heading up the stairs.

The door to the apartment was open, so Leorio knocked on the frame before heading in. Kurapika was over at the stove, stirring something in a big pot. Judging by the smell, he was making tea again.

“You’re just in time, come try this,” the witch said, not even looking up from what he was doing.

Leorio wandered over and obediently sipped from the ladle that was offered to him. He scrunched up his nose.

“It tastes like soap.”

Kurapika scoffed and rolled his eyes, “You have no taste.”

“I’m dating  _ you,  _ I have to have some sort of taste right?”

Kurapika sat the ladle aside and fully turned to him, mirth sparkling in his eyes, “It would seem the forces that be decided to put all of your taste in one category.”

Leorio gave a half-hearted chuckle as Kurapika tugged him closer and leaned up to kiss his jaw.

He seemed to notice Leorio’s stiff posture and frowned.

“What’s got into you? You don’t really seem like yourself today.”

“Uh…” Leorio averted his gaze, rubbing at the back of his neck, “So that warlock guy made a rather aggressive pass at me.”

Kurapika stiffened, his jaw set and his knuckles going white as he clenched at the fabric of Leorio’s shirt.

_ “What?!” _

Leorio swallowed thickly as Kurapika’s energy leached into the air around them.

“Y-Yeah, I helped him with a couple of heavy boxes and he like backed me up against a wall it was-“

The air became so thick and acrid that it was almost unbearable. Kurapika’s eyes turned blood red and Leorio could practically see steam coming out of the man’s ears. All of a sudden there was a loud crashing sound and all off the clay pots filled with plants along the windows and counters shattered. 

Killua phased up through the floor, a concerned look on his transparent face.

“You guys dying up here?”

Leorio looked at him over his shoulder and shook his head, “Not a good time kid.”

Killua nodded and shrugged, sinking back down to the shop below.

Leorio turned back and grabbed Kurapika’s hands, rubbing soothing circles with his thumbs.

“Hey, put the angry juju up,” he let go of one hand to cup Kurapika’s cheek, “I’ll never be nice to the guy again, I won’t go anywhere near him.”

Kurapika huffed and shook his head, the tension in the air slowly receding.

“It’s not  _ your fault  _ that you’re stupidly attractive,” he pursed his lips, “And overly helpful. He should learn some respect.”

Leorio’s ears tinged red and he chuckled. He looked over at the broken clay and soil everywhere and frowned, ”Here, let me clean this up for you.”

“I’ve got it,” Kurapika snapped his fingers and the potted plants put themselves back together, as if they’d never broken apart.

Leorio shook his head, “I always forget you can do that.”

“Magic is just convenient supernatural laziness,” Kurapika shrugged, snaking his arms around Leorio’s waist and sliding his hands into his back pockets.

“That is… a rather interesting way to look at it,” Leorio ran his fingers through Kurapika’s hair and hummed.

“You still seem put off. Did he hurt you? Do I need to go down there?”

“Oh no,” Leorio sighed, “Just hoping i don’t get hexed again for turning him down.

Kurapika scowled.

“If you do, I’ll do a counter-hex. If he’s dumb enough to keep coming on to a blood-witch’s boyfriend, he’s probably stupid enough to try that too. Don’t worry,” he tilted his head, flashing a dangerous smile, “I’ll take care of you.”

Leorio bit the inside of his cheek, warmth stirring in his gut.

  
  


_ Okay I really have to sort out this whole scared=horny thing. Maybe I need therapy. _

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck Mars for giving me LeoKuro disease.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chrollo’s creepy-crawly revenge begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important trigger warning!! There’s some slight dub-con near the end of this chapter, depending on how you look at it.
> 
> >Spoiler warning<
> 
> The dub-con occurs due to incubus-related shenanigans.

Leorio awoke in the wee hours of the morning to the blaring of Ricky Martin’s  _ Livin’ La Vida Loca.  _ He grumbled, reaching out blindly for his phone on the nightstand. He cracked one eye open to see enough to swipe his thumb across the screen and put the phone up to his ear.

“Mmgh, baby it’s like four in the morning, what’s up?”

_ “I need you, get over here right now- _ “ he seemed a bit frazzled and desperate from the tone of his voice and Leorio snickered, easily misinterpreting the situation.

“Oho,  _ Kurapika _ , if I didn’t have class in three hours I’d take you up on that-“

_ “Leorio. This is not a bootycall, my shop is flooding. Get your ass over here and  _ **_help me.”_ **

Leorio shot up out of bed like a bullet and quickly looked around for a pair of pants.

“Uh, oh shit okay give me a few minutes I’ll be right down.”

_ “Hurry up.” _

Kurapika hung up and Leorio quickly dressed and raced out of his apartment. He tore down the streets on his bike and arrived to a very soggy magic shop. He stepped in and there were a few inches of water on the ground, pouring in from the second floor. 

He went upstairs through the water and found Kurapika at the kitchen sink, the cabinets open and a tool box set to the side.

“Hey what happened?” Leorio stepped up behind him, trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling of water seeping into his shoes.

“I woke up to this,” Kurapika sighed, standing up, “The bathroom sink is doing the same thing and the toilet’s overflowing too. I can normally fix this type of thing with magic but for some reason this time I just can’t.”

Leorio frowned.

“Here, let me take a look,” he dropped down to his knees and ducked his head under the counter. There didn’t appear to be any sort of leaks or weird pipe issues. He stood back up and fidgeted with the faucet handles but nothing would turn it off.

He hummed in thought as his hand hovered over the faucet itself. A familiar, unpleasant energy was just barely present, but it was  _ there. _

“Chrollo. This has Chrollo’s energy over it.”

Kurapika cursed and slammed his fist into the countertop, “Of course it does, why am I not surprised. Stand back.”

Leorio stepped aside and Kurapika put out his hands, a red-hot burst of energy shooting towards the faucet. Kurapika’s eyes narrowed as he concentrated, but nothing budged.

He scowled and his hands dropped back towards his side.

“Damn, he’s good. It’s going to take more than just me to unhex this,” he held up his hand and wiggled his fingers, “Give me your hand, I’m going to use you as an amplifier.”

“Amplifier?” Leorio arched a brow, giving the witch his hand, “How does that work?”

“I’m going to channel your energy through me to boost my magic. Sorry, this might make you tired.”

_ I’m already exhausted but whatever. _

Kurapika closed his eyes and squeezed Leorio’s hand, his free hand coming up again. Leorio watched in fascination as his own energy flowed into Kurapika from their connected hands and twined with the witch’s. All of the energy erupted from Kurapika’s other hand and shot out towards the faucet. It seemed like the energy hit a barrier and Leorio felt a bit faint as it broke.

The water stopped and Kurapika let go of his hand, bending over with his hands on his knees. Leorio wobbled a bit, lightheaded. Kurapika looked over to where water was still flowing out of the bathroom and sighed.

“One problem down, two to go,” he stood back up and grabbed Leorio’s hand to drag him into the bathroom. 

By the time the hexes on the bathroom sink and toilet were broken, they were both incredibly exhausted. Kurapika slumped against Leorio and Leorio slumped against the wall. 

“Leorio?” Kurapika mumbled.

“Hm?”

“I don’t have enough magic left to clean up. And I don’t think I can walk.”

Leorio looked around at the water everywhere and down to the blonde leaning against him. He shifted and scooped the witch into his arms. Kurapika was practically dead weight and his eyes were a faded and mottled grey-mauve color. 

“Geez, Sunshine, you look pretty worse for wear,” he shifted Kurapika’s weight once more before pushing off the wall and carrying him back into the living room.

“Yeah, well you’re not looking so hot either,” Kurapika frowned, pursing his lips.

Leorio shook his head, sitting Kurapika down on his bed.

“I’ll take care of the clean up, you get some sleep.”

“But what about your classes-“

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll just get the notes from Phinks later,” he leaned down and kissed Kurapika’s nose, “Sleep.”

Kurapika didn’t look too thrilled about the situation but his eyes were too heavy to stay open any longer. 

  
  


After a grueling two hours of mopping and scrubbing and hanging things to dry, Leorio took off his clothes and fell into bed next to Kurapika. Despite his obvious exhaustion, he couldn’t fall asleep right away. 

_ I really hope this isn’t the start of something bad. Chrollo seems like the arbitrarily persistent type. _

  
  


Unfortunately, Leorio’s fears were well-placed.

  
  


Leorio woke up in the afternoon to a scream and the sound of things being thrown. He shot up and realized that nearly every surface around him was crawling with  _ spiders.  _ He jumped up quick and shook himself off before grabbing his clothes and shaking  _ them  _ off and running downstairs.

Kurapika and Pairo were running around the shop, killing as many of the eight-legged vermin as possible.

“What the hell is going on? Why are there spiders everywhere?”

“ _ Chrollo!”  _ Kurapika spat, swinging a broom around, “This has to be the work of that bastard!”

Pairo, looking more feral than Leorio had ever seen him when he possessed fuzzy ears and a tail, smashed a book against several of the little beasts, “That motherfucker-“

Leorio scowled, “Should I go get an industrial-sized can of raid?”

“Maybe?” Kurapika sighed, clearly still drained from the ordeal last night, “I don’t know. There’s just so many of them-“

“Pika we might have to shut down and get an exterminator,” Pairo jumped and slapped a spider off of himself.

“I can’t just- Pairo I  _ live here. _ ”

“And you can come stay with me.”

“Or me,” Leorio rubbed the back of his neck, “I know it isn’t ideal, but Zepile won’t mind if I explain the situation.”

Kurapika sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket, “I’ll look up an exterminator.”

  
  


While Pairo and Kurapika made arrangements for pest control services, Leorio went down the block to grab them all coffee. On his way back he bumped into who else but  _ Chrollo  _ on his way back. His hackles raised and he tighten his grip on his drink carrier.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Paladiknight, how are you? I trust you had an eventful morning?” His smirk was positively rage-inducing and Leorio felt his blood pressure rising.

“Look, your little jealous magic rampage isn’t cute. I’m the one who turned you down, if you’re gonna fuck with someone, fuck with me, but leave Kurapika alone.”

“Oh? I’m certain I’m not sure what you mean,” the warlock stepped closer and leaned in, “But understand, Mr. Paladiknight, that I always get what I want. One way or another.”

He gave an insincere grin and patted Leorio on the shoulder before brushing past him. A shiver went down Leorio’s spine and he high-tailed it back to the shop.

  
  
  


Kurapika spent the next couple of days at Leorio’s place. Zepile was very clear about his wariness of Kurapika using magic in the house, to which Kurapika replied by using said magic to pin his cellphone to the ceiling. 

Zepile shut up after that.

  
  


Leorio blessedly hadn’t run into Chrollo again so far, and nothing else seemed to be going wrong. Leorio started to relax. That was probably a mistake.

  
  


Leorio sat on the couch late one night, going through his fan mail. Zepile was out for the evening, and Kurapika had already gone to bed.

Letter after sweet letter, little stuffed ghosts, and tons of really good fanart- those were the things typically bestowed upon the youtuber. So when he unwrapped a small oil portrait of what appeared to be a  _ man,  _ he was awfully confused. There was no letter or note attached, no sender.

He hummed in thought as he took in the image of the man’s piercing gold eyes and wild red hair, his sinister grin. It was unnerving. Perhaps one of his subscribers had seen it in an antique shop and sent it to him because it was creepy?

_ There’s just something off about it… _

The ghost hunter shrugged to himself and sat it aside with his other gifts. He stood and gave a stretch, checking the time on his phone. He sighed and stepped around the coffee table to head to bed.

Kurapika was bundled up on the far side of the bed, snoring lightly. Leorio quietly and carefully stripped and climbed in next to him. The witch didn’t so much as budge and as soon as Leorio got comfortable, he was out like a light.

  
  


Heat- burning, wet, and unmistakable, it was a vivid feeling that pulled at Leorio’s consciousness some odd hours later. Leorio moaned and arched into that heat as he became aware of it. His hands instinctively tried to reach out to find purchase on hips or thighs or  _ anything  _ but he couldn’t move. His bleary eyes blinked open and he was met with the image of Kurapika above him, bouncing on his dick and smirking down at him. Leorio tried to speak but his throat wouldn’t let out any sounds other than groans and gasps. Between his lack of ability to move and the odd, fuzzy film over his eyes he determined he had to be dreaming.

It was certainly the most vivid wet dream he’d ever had.

He took in the sharp lines of Kurapika’s throat and collar bones as he tossed his head back. He felt the witch’s walls clamp down on him and his vision went black for a moment as he came, just like that. He heard laughter but it didn’t sound anything like Kurapika, he couldn’t dwell long on that however, as his cock eagerly fattened back up and the dream-Kurapika began riding him again.

One of the witch’s hands reached out and scraped nails that were  _ far too long and sharp  _ over his chest. Leorio gasped and arched again. He looked into Kurapika’s narrow grey eyes for a moment too long and they flashed silver and then gold.

  
  


Leorio woke feeling more exhausted than he had when he went to sleep. He cringed, lifting the blankets off himself and assessing the dry mess on his abdomen.

_ Well that’s embarrassing as hell. What am I, sixteen? _

He stood and wobbled on his feet, feeling lightheaded. His muscles felt strained and sore, and he momentarily wondered if it had been a dream at all, or if Kurapika had suddenly gotten aggressively horny and mounted him in the middle of the night.

He turned to look at the blonde, only to find that he hadn’t moved even an inch since Leorio got in bed.

He shrugged it off and went to clean up.

Fresh out of the shower, Leorio walked back into the bedroom and found the weird portrait he’d gotten from a fan on his nightstand.

_ I… don’t remember bringing that in here last night… _

Slightly unnerved, Leorio shoved the small frame into his night-stand drawer. He climbed back in bed and relaxed marginally when Kurapika turned over and snuggled into his side.

  
  


He closed his eyes and tried not to think about it too much.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio's dreams start to drive a wedge between himself and Kurapika.

After the spider incident, it seemed that Chrollo had backed off of messing with Kurapika’s shop. Leorio was still on edge though, made worse by the fact that he was now _constantly_ exhausted.

He didn’t know what the deal was, but he hadn’t woken up rested in _weeks._ He blamed it on his vivid wet dreams, which had been coming more and more frequently. 

It was incredibly embarrassing. Leorio woke up almost daily at this point with a mess on his stomach and a shameful twist in his gut. Thankfully, Kurapika either hadn’t noticed or had the decency to not mention it if so when they spent the night together. 

It wasn’t just the sheer amount it happened, though. With each torrid hallucination, more and more things seemed off about the Kurapika on top of him.

That was another strange thing.

The dreams always happened in the exact same way, him flat on his back on whatever surface he’d fallen asleep on and Kurapika riding him. Not for nothing, it was still a pleasant visual, but it was _weirdly specific._

  
  
  


“Hey old man, are you going deaf?”

Leorio jumped, startled out of his doze as Killua’s voice came out of nowhere next to him. The ghost manifested himself at the side of Leorio’s desk, where all his study materials were spread out.

“What the fuck, kid?” Leorio scrubbed his hands over his tired eyes, irritable mood present in his voice as he spoke.

“Your phone dinged like three times, Eyebrows yelled to let you know he was leaving, and you’ve just been sitting here.”

Leorio grumbled and sat back in his chair. Normally he would have laughed at the quip about Zepile but he couldn't even manage a snicker.

“Damn, again? Fell asleep in class too…”

“Wow, lame.”

Leorio huffed and swiped at him but Killua disappeared into the ether, laughing.

He gave a deep sigh and face planted into his text book.

_So damn tired. Can’t even function._

His stomach growled.

_Have I eaten today?_

He couldn’t remember.

He turned his head to the side and dragged his phone to his face, tilting it so he could see the screen. There was a text from Pietro concerning their next investigation but he honestly didn’t have the energy to reply to him at the moment so he opened the other one, which was from Kurapika.

  
  
  


**From: Babe With the Power🧙🔮✨**

**Are you still coming over tonight?**

  
  
  


Leorio blinked and tried to remember ever agreeing to come over that day at all.

  
  
  


**To: Babe With the Power🧙🔮✨**

**I can. Why was I coming over again?**

  
  


**From: Babe With the Power🧙🔮✨**

**Uh.**

**You wanted me to teach you more about Tarot for a video?**

**You literally asked me about this yesterday.**

  
  


**To: Babe With the Power🧙🔮✨**

**Fuck.**

**Right.**

**Sorry.**

  
  
  
  


Leorio dragged his hand through his hair as he sat up, feeling shame bubble up in his gut.

_God I’m a fucking wreck._

  
  
  
  


Leorio showed up to Kurapika’s that night with the witch’s favorite takeout and wine as an apology. Kurapika gave him a stern, if not concerned look, but accepted the gifts with a kiss to his cheek.

  
  


After devouring the food, they sat down across from each other on the floor, a deck of large, black and gold cards in Kurapika’s lap and a pen and notebook at Leorio’s side.

“Alright, there is a _lot_ of info I could tell you about the cards but we would be here for days if I just threw everything at you. So we’ll discuss the basics.”

He held up the deck of cards and took it out of its box.

“This is the Major Arcana. There are other cards that go along, but this is the main body of tarot. There are twenty-two cards, and each card follows a storyline.”

Leorio watched in fascination as Kurapika easily shuffled the cards without looking at his hands.

“The story follows the character of _The Fool,”_ He plucked out a random card and held it up for Leorio to see the depiction of a man standing on the edge of a cliff under the sun, a dog barking at his heel, “That’s this guy. He represents humanity.”

_How did he…_

Kurapika slipped the card back into the deck and continued shuffling.

“We see The Fool on his journey of enlightenment on the fulfillment of _The World,_ ” He pulled out another card and showed it to Leorio. This card had a scantily clad woman hovering about Earth, a staff in both hands and ringed by a wreath. In the corners were the heads of a man, an ox, an eagle, and a lion.

“The entire purpose of this story, and tarot itself, is to guide you to understanding the spiritual and physical worlds better. It is a tool for knowledge and guidance.”

Leorio nodded slowly, his tired brain lagging behind a bit.

“Each card has certain attributes assigned to it that correlate with something in a person’s life. These cards have different meanings, depending on the direction they end up facing.”

Kurapika laid a few cards face down and shuffled them into different shapes.

“There are several different spreads, or ways to lay out the cards and read them, but the idea is always the same. We read what happens to the fool and find the parallels to our own lives.”

“So… do you.. predict the future by reading the cards, or?”

Kurapika sat back and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear.

“Sometimes, but that isn’t really the main focus. Typically, the cards tell you about something that is already happening in your life and gives you guidance on what lesson you’re supposed to learn from it.”

Leorio nodded again, a bit too hard as it irritated his ongoing headache.

“Do you have to be a witch or have abilities to be able to read tarot?”

“No,” Kurapika shook his head, “However the cards do prefer to talk more with those who are spiritually gifted.”

Leorio furrowed his brow, “What do you mean by that?”

“The deck has a heart and mind of its own. The longer you use the deck, the more you connect with the heart of the cards- if you’re gifted it tends to be that much easier. For example…”

He picked up the cards and shuffled them before sitting the deck down. He put his hand over the top card.

“I’ve had this deck practically all my life. It was my mother’s and her mother’s before her. I have a deep connection to it. So if I ask it to show me the Emperor card,” He picked up the top card and flipped it over, “It will listen.”

And there it was, the Emperor himself sitting on his throne with a scepter and a globe.

“Whoa. That's pretty nifty," his tone was less impressed than he actually was and Kurapika arched a brow.

  
  


Kurapika went one by one, laying down cards and explaining their meanings. He looked up after the fact and found Leorio with a glazed, distant look in his eyes.

"Did you hear _anything I just said?"_

Leorio snapped out of his stupor and his immediate reaction was to raise his hackles.

"Yes I _heard you._ "

Kurapika narrowed eyes, brows furrowed.

"I was only asking because you looked like you were worlds away. Are you alright? You've been acting strangely all week and frankly I've had it."

"I'm fine," Leorio crossed his arms and squared his shoulders.

"Don't you _dare_ lie to me, Leorio."

"Oh so I'm a liar now?" The back of his neck heated with irritation.

"Assign yourself whatever title you'd prefer. In the last two weeks you have forgotten three of our date nights, slept through every movie we attempted to watch together. Yesterday you went to Starbucks and left after paying without waiting for the drinks. What the hell is going on?!"

When Kurapika’s voice raised, so did Leorio's. 

"Well fuck, _Kurapika,_ sorry we can't all be as perfect as _you_ at all times!"

Kurapika was taken aback by his sarcasm and Leorio could see his hands ball into fists with his contained fury, trying to keep a cap on his energy.

"Leorio I am _worried_ about you. You don't have to be an ass about it. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I'm sleeping just fine," he gritted through his teeth. 

Kurapika scowled deeply.

"Fine, whatever, be obstinate. I'll let the cards tell me if you're lying or not."

Leorio scoffed and rolled his eyes as Kurapika shuffled his cards.

The witch suddenly threw the entire deck into the air and his eyes turned red before he closed them. He held out his hand and caught two cards in mid air between his fingers as the rest of the cards filed back into a neat stack on the ground.

_Fucking showoff._

Kurapika opened his eyes and placed the cards face up between them.

"Justice reversed and The Moon. You aren't lying to me outright, but you're not being completely honest with me or even yourself. You might not even fully know the truth. "

Leorio huffed and sprang to his feet.

"You know what? I think I'm going to head home."

Kurapika rolled his eyes.

"Leorio, _honestly."_

Leorio grabbed his keys and slid his shoes on.

"Thanks for the card lesson," he didn't bother looking back as he shut the door behind himself when he left.

If he had, he would have seen Kurapika’s confused and concerned expression as he wrapped his arms around himself to self-soothe.

  
  
  


Leorio and Kurapika had little arguments every once in a while, mostly over trivial things, like every normal couple did.

But something about this particular argument sat in Leorio’s stomach like spoiled milk.

_Because you know you’re in the wrong,_ his brain insisted.

He flopped down against his bed after trying to shower off his bad attitude.

Tomorrow maybe, he would let himself apologize, but for now he was still pissed.

  
  


When he fell asleep and into dreamland, the Kurapika smirking above him was an unwelcome sight.

He was still pissed off, even in his lucid dreams it seemed, but even still the vice around his dick was incredibly, stupidly pleasant. He let out a moan, even as he tried to will himself to move around and wake up. He was stuck though, as always, unable to move or even look any further down than Kurapika’s belly button.

He absently noticed for the first time that something seemed wrong about the witch’s chest but couldn't dwell on it as Kurapika leaned a bit closer, rolling his hips rhythmically.

“Oh, what’s this?” His voice sounded.. odd… like it was overlayed on top of a different sound, “You don’t want to see me tonight, huh? That’s alright. I have a different face you might enjoy.”

Leorio watched in sleepy fascination as Kurapika sat back, his torso and arms becoming a bit bulkier, his skin changing tones. He ran a hand over his face and through his hair. Blonde locks turned inky black and grey eyes turned as silver as the moonlight.

What little function his brain had in this half-dream state completely dissolved. Leorio barely had time to process what he was seeing before the image of _Chrollo_ began to slowly circle his hips, nails that were too long and sharp leaving crisscross patterns on his chest.

It was wrong, it was so incredibly _wrong_ , but Leorio couldnt help but try and fuck up into the warlock, heat coursing through his veins. 

Chrollo’s voice came out just as odd as Kurapika’s had, "There we go, that's better isn't it?"

Dream-Chrollo clamped down and _laughed_ as Leorio came with a garbled, pained moan.

  
  


Leorio woke the next day feeling more shame than he ever had in his life.

He spent over an hour in the shower, trying to scrub away the guilt that had seeped into his very bones.

When he got out he wiped the steam from the mirror and looked deeply into his reflection.

Chrollo was an incredibly attractive man, and even though he wasn't really Leorio’s type, he was not _blind_ by any means.

He tried to reason with himself that it was probably normal to fantasize about someone else after having an argument with your boyfriend.

But God did he feel sleezy.

He leaned in and inspected the deep purple bruises around his eyes and sighed. It was then that something caught his eye.

He looked down at his chest and found bright red crisscrossing scratches.

_What the fuck?_

He touched them and they didn't hurt, but were very much _there._

Leorio’s stomach clenched. 

  
  
  


Leorio avoided Kurapika for a couple of days after that, blowing off his texts. He had two more dreams about Chrollo and his guilt multiplied exponentially.

And God he was so tired he could barely stay upright. 

It was going on day four when there was a banging at the door in the afternoon.

Sour, grouchy Leorio ignored it, letting his roommate take care of it while he sat on his ass in the kitchen and downed his 6th cup of coffee for the day.

**_"Where the fuck is he?!"_ **

"Uh-hey uh h-he's in the kitchen!"

Leorio barely had time to process what he'd heard when a positively _feral-_ looking Pairo stomped into the room.

If looks could kill, Leorio would be a pile of ash on the ground.

He scrambled to stand up, backing away as Pairo closed in on him.

"You, _you mother fucker_."

"I- what did I-?"

Pairo backed him up against the fridge, gripping him by the front of his shirt.

"Pika has been worried _sick_ about you! Why haven't you answered any of his calls or texts?!"

"I-"

"You better come up with something good or, so help me, I will treat your flesh like _Fancy Feast_ and use your bones to pick my teeth."

Leorio gulped, fear rushing through him.

"I- look, Pairo, I'm sorry I didn't intend to worry him. I just needed space."

Pairo narrowed his eyes, "Then why didn't you just _tell him_ you needed space? Would that really have been so hard?"

Leorio averted his gaze, ashamed.

Pairo hissed and his pupils turned into angry slits. He grabbed Leorio by the jaw and squeezed.

"Now you listen to me, and listen well. This is your one free fuck up. You don't get another. Hurt my best friend like this again and you will not live long enough to regret it."

"Y-Yes sir!" Leorio squeaked.

"Good," Pairo let go of him and stepped back, settling back into his usual demeanor like he hadn't just threatened Leorio’s life, "Call Pika. He misses you."

He turned and walked out the kitchen door, where Zepile had been carefully cowering from afar.

"Bye Zep!"

"Uh… bye… Pairo…"

Leorio slid down the fridge until his ass hit the floor, his stomach still in his throat and heart pounding.

"Do I even wanna know what that was about?

The ghost hunter looked up at his friend with a bewildered expression and said nothing.

"Ah, right. Okay."

Leorio dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed Kurapika’s number. It ran once before it was picked up.

_"Where the hell-"_

"Kurapika."

_"-Do you have_ **_any_ ** _idea how-"_

"Kurapika. Please-"

" _-just leaving me on read and-"_

Leorio’s patience snapped.

" **KURAPIKA!"**

Dead silence.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have ghosted you like that. Can I come over and properly apologize?"

Kurapika sighed after a moment of silence.

_"Fine, but try to leave your shitty attitude at the door."_

Kurapika hung up. Leorio deserved it.

  
  
  


Kurapika met him in the shop and led him upstairs.

"So, that apology?" Kurapika crossed his arms as he sat down on the side of his bed.

Leorio took a deep breath.

"I am so sorry, I didn't think about how worried you'd be when you didn't hear from me. It was inconsiderate. I should have just asked for space."

Kurapika’s nose scrunched.

"I appreciate the apology, but why the fuck did you need space? What did I do?"

"You were hounding me about being tired and I just wasn't- I'm _still_ just not ready to tell you about what's going on. I got defensive."

Kurapika leaned back on his hands and crossed his legs.

"Leorio you were acting so _weird._ You still are."

"I know…. But I wasn't lying to you. I have been sleeping, it just isn't restful. I've been having," Leorio swallowed thickly and averted his eyes, "Weird dreams."

Kurapika seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding.

"Ah, I see. Well… thank you for sharing that _now._ I'm sorry for pestering you."

Kurapika clearly wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer, but thankfully dropped it. He reached out and took Leorio’s hand to pull him close, so he was hovering over him next to the bed. He looked up at Leorio through his lashes.

"Did Pairo use the _Fancy Feast_ line on you?"

Leorio nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. 

The blonde sighed and tugged him down as he laid back. Leorio bracketed his head with his forearms, heat rising to his cheeks as Kurapika threw his arms around his neck and brushed his lips against his jaw.

"Good. You deserve it, asshole."

  
  


Kurapika insisted Leorio stay for while so they watched a movie while curled up together on the bed. Leorio felt like he was falling asleep the whole time. 

At one point however, Kurapika pressed his mouth to Leorio's pulse and grinded his core against Leorio's thigh wedged between his legs and Leorio gulped.

" _Missed you,"_ Kurapika moaned breathlessly against his neck, " _Idiot."_

Leorio flushed deeply, "It was only a couple of days."

Kurapika shook his head, "No, you've not really been all here for a while, Leorio."

A sharp pang of guilt stabbed him in the chest.

"I'm _sorry,"_ he sighed, hands gently squeezing the swell of Kurapika’s hips.

"Yeah, well you can make it up to me," he sat up, humping against Leorio's leg. His face was flushed and his eyes were hungry as one hand slid down from his chest to cup him through his pants, "I missed this too."

Leorio felt the faintest stirrings of arousal but even as he was stroked and squeezed, his dick remained uninterested. 

Kurapika seemed to get confused after a few minutes with no reaction and halted himself.

"Not in the mood for make-up sex, huh?" 

Leorio's cheeks flamed with shame. The disappointment in the witch’s voice stung. 

"I'm… sorry."

Leorio had never encountered this problem before. He usually had the opposite, his libido being overly active.

There was something humiliating and sad about not being able to get it up when his boyfriend was _right there,_ hot and ready for him. 

He couldn't help but wonder if it was more because of guilt or simply because his wet dreams had… literally sucked everything out of him.

"I can… still take care of you?" Even as he offered it, exhaustion made the idea so unappealing. 

Kurapika shook his head and laid back down on his own side of the bed. 

"If you're not into it, I'm not interested."

"Fair enough."

  
  


The rest of the afternoon had been awkward, to saythe least, and Leorio left feeling worse than when he'd arrived. 

As Leorio walked back home he thought about his latest dreams and his face heated with shame again. 

He looked up from the sidewalk and found Chrollo staring at him from across the street. His arms were crossed and he was looking at him as if he knew every dirty little secret inside his brain. 

  
  


Leorio feared that he really did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a very rudimentary understanding of Tarot and had to consult several blogs to make sure I was being accurate.
> 
> Also I PROMISE chrollo will go away soon I promise


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chrollo’s game comes crashing down.

Sometimes it was Chrollo, sometimes it was Kurapika, but all the time these dreams were a nuisance. 

Leorio was barely functioning at this point, having missed several classes and being super behind on uploads. 

It had finally gotten so damn ridiculous that he had decided to tell Kurapika about it…

… with as few details as possible. 

  
  


He arrived unannounced to the shop one afternoon after a class he _didn't_ skip. He normally rode his bike to the university but he didn't trust himself not to fall asleep at the wheel so he walked. 

Gon was at the counter and Pairo was curled up in a furry little twist, napping on its surface. Leorio greeted Gon with a lackluster high five and headed up stairs.

He found Kurapika lounging on his bed, legs splayed in such a way that his eyes were drawn to the tattoo on his thigh where it peeked out of the leg of his shorts. His hair was tied up and his neck was bare and just begging for Leorio to mark it up. 

He wished he had the energy. 

The witch looked up at him from his phone screen, surprised. 

"Leorio? What's going on? I wasn't expecting you."

Leorio said nothing as he slowly removed his shoes and shades. Kurapika watched him curiously as he approached and sat his phone aside as Leorio crawled onto the bed and settled between Kurapika’s legs with his head on his thigh.

"Leorio?" Delicate fingers landed in his hair and Leorio sighed as they massaged his scalp. 

"I… don't really want to talk about this but it's kind of gotten out of control…"

"Is this about why you're so tired?"

Leorio nodded.

"These dreams I've been having have been… well," he flushed so intensely that he feared he'd burn Kurapika’s thigh with his cheek, "of a… sexual nature."

"Oh?" Kurapika sounded confused, "I think that's a perfectly normal-"

"Yeah I thought it was normal too until it started happening _every night._ "

Kurapika’s fingers stilled in his hair.

"Oh."

"Yeah, _oh._ I always wake up feeling exhausted, cause it feels like I've literally had the life fucked out of me."

"That… hmm… well that explains why you haven't been in the mood lately… I was beginning to think that you were losing interest."

Leorio turned over and sat up, shaking his head. 

"Not one bit," he cupped Kurapika's face in his hands, "I am still _stupidly_ attracted to you, it's just-"

Kurapika frowned and nodded. 

"I think there might be something supernatural about whatever is happening. Maybe Chrollo has something to do with it."

At the mention of the warlock Leorio averted his eyes, neck and ears burning. Kurapika arched a brow but thankfully didn't pry into his reaction.

"What do we do?"

"First we need to figure out exactly what's happening. In these dreams, can you move?"

"Only a little. Not very well."

"So they're semi-lucid. I can give you something tonight to help you fully dream lucidly."

"Give me something? What, you got a tea for that too?"

Kurapika leveled him with a blank stare.

"Huh… of course you do…"

  
  
  
  


"Here, drink this."

Leorio accepted the cup of smelly tea with a grimace.

"And you're sure this will work?"

"Positive."

Kurapika was smirking.

_This will be extremely unpleasant._

He took a sip.

"This is _extremely unpleasant."_

Kurapika laughed, pulling his shirt over his head and stepping out of his shorts. He picked them both up and tossed them in his hamper.

Leorio drained the cup of tea, eyes watching Kurapika as he flitted about the room in his boxer briefs. 

When Leorio sat the cup aside, Kurapika climbed into his lap and pulled his shirt over his head..

"Hey whats-"

Kurapika turned it around and pulled it over his own head. It rested on his thighs and drooped off a pale shoulder. Leorio swallowed thickly and he saw Kurapika’s eyes follow his Adam's apple as it bobbed in his throat.

"You don't mind, do you?"

"I do- do I?? I don't-" Kurapika laughed as he babbled, putting his arms around his neck. He leaned in and kissed him softly and Leorio relaxed back into the pillows, pulling Kurapika along with him as whatever the hell was in the tea started making him super sleepy. The last thing he remembered before passing out was Kurapika tucking himself into his side.

  
  
  


This time it was Kurapika that came to him in the dream, all stormy eyes and golden hair. Leorio nearly forgot what he was supposed to be doing until he managed to grab the witch’s hips. Kurapika’s eyes flashed gold, surprised.

Leorio shook his head and looked around. He could see the real Kurapika at his side, sleeping undisturbed. He looked back to the dream-Kurapika and that's when he finally realized a few important things.

Kurapika’s chest was smooth and pale, with no blemishes. Leorio had traced the blonde’s chest with his mouth and fingers so many times by now that he knew it better than his own. Even in a dream, he was sure his brain would include his surgery scars.

Leorio moaned as Kurapika clamped down on him hard and his eyes drifted down further and _that…_

That wasn't the right set of genitalia.

Leorio’s own brain wouldn't have made a weird ass mistake like _that._

He felt panic fill him and he watched Kurapika’s face turn into a sneer.

"Uh oh… that's different. How are you so…" he grinded his hips in a dirty circle, "responsive?"

Leorio tried to shove him off but he wouldn't budge, so he turned and reached out for the real Kurapika, only to have the fake one disappear completely.

And everything went black.

  
  


He woke to the real Kurapika looking down at him and it startled him.

_"Fuck!"_

Kurapika recoiled, sitting back on his knees.

"Leorio, are you-"

Leorio sat up, wrapping his arms around himself, feeling rather violated.

"I don't- Kurapika I don't think they're dreams."

Kurapika frowned, furrowing his brow.

"What do you-"

"I could move this time and I turned and saw the real you sleeping next to me. Whatever the… thing is, it knew I was lucid."

"Shit… I think you have an incubus."

"An _incubus?!_ Like a sex demon?!"

_That… does make sense…_

"I theorize that Chrollo summoned him to drive a wedge between us. To his credit, it's been working."

"So… what now?'

Kurapika leveled him with a determined expression. 

  
  


"We drive it out."

  
  
  


Ever since realizing that it was a demon and not his own subconscious mind that caused his nightly escapades, Leorio felt a lot less guilty but a lot more unnerved. It took a few days for Leorio to let Kurapika get close to him again. It bothered the witch, but he respected Leorio's need for physical space. 

On Friday night Kurapika came over armed with sage and a few other demon- fighting tools. Zepile and Killua had both been instructed to leave, for safety.

Kurapika placed stones and pink salt along the windows and smudged the house with sage while saying a prayer. He gave Leorio more of that rancid tea and they went to bed.

When the incubus came to him that night, he was free of the guise of either the witch or warlock, all fiery hair and cruel golden eyes.

He leaned into Leorio’s face, smirking.

"So you've discovered my ruse? No matter, your little witch won't be able to get rid of me-"

Leorio shot his arm out and grabbed Kurapika who startled awake. He turned over and immediately blasted the demon with bright red energy, making him fly into the wall with a screech.

"Go back to where you came from, scum. Your master has no power here."

"Master? Oh you mean Chrollo? I assure you, he is an intimate acquaintance... but our dear Leorio knows exactly how intimate he can get, don't you darling?"

Leorio gulped as Kurapika’s eye twitched.

“And what exactly do you mean by that?”

The incubus laughed and his appearance slowly changed to the warlock facade and back.

“Oh he didn’t tell you? My my, so little trust to be had in this relationship. What a pity.”

One flaming hand shot out and caught the demon by the throat and _squeezed. The demon squawked_ and his flesh began to burn and flake away.

“You have caused enough chaos, demon,” Kurapika tightened his grip and practically snarled, “I don’t take kindly to those who would take things from me. So now I’ll take your life.”

Leorio’s eyes widened in both shock and fear as Kurapika’s energy wrapped around the demon and began eating away at his flesh.

“Oh Goddess, hear my prayer. Cleanse this space and destroy all manner of negative energies. Cast out all demons and burn them with your light."

There was an intense bright flash and a deafening scream and Leorio momentarily worried about his neighbors calling the cops.

When the light faded, Kurapika fell to his knees, pale and panting, clutching the frame of the incubus’ portrait.

After the initial shock wore off, Leorio realized the demon was gone. He scrambled off the bed and knelt at Kurapika’s side.

"Kurapika, baby, are you alright?!"

The blonde turned and slumped against him with a relieved expression. 

"You called me baby," he reached up and stroked Leorio’s jaw with trembling hands. The ghost hunter looked perplexed.

"I always call you baby. Or sunshine. Or-"

"You haven't called me anything but my name in _weeks._ And this is the first time I've been able to touch you without you flinching first since this all began."

"Shit…"

_I didn't even realize._

Leorio took a deep breath and realized that he felt lighter, still exhausted beyond measure, but in a less oppressive way. There was one thing that still bothered him though. 

He looked down at the frame in Kurapika’s lap.

"What do we do with _that?"_

"What do you do with unwanted mail?" scarlet eyes narrowed, "You return it to the sender."

  
  
  


Several days later, Leorio happened to be scrolling on Twitter in bed one morning when he stumbled upon a breaking news story saying that _Lucilfer’s Magick and Gifts_ had burnt to the ground overnight due to an electrical fire.

He'd quickly hopped out of bed, dressed, and all but ran down the street to see for himself.

Sure enough, when he arrived there was a huge crowd gathered around the taped-off remains of the shop. Interestingly enough, the stores to the left and right of Chrollo’s were completely untouched.

_He didn't-_

Leorio’s stomach soured and he continued on down the street towards The Odd Job.

  
  


He found the shop closed, oddly enough, but the door was unlocked. He found Kurapika, Pairo, and Killua at the counter, all looking quite pleased. Leorio strode right up, a worried expression on his face.

"Kurapika please tell me you didn't set that asshole's shop on fire."

"I didn't set his shop on fire," Kurapika deadpanned, "All I did was have Pairo shapeshift and bury the portrait behind the building."

Leorio turned a wary eye to the brunette who smirked at him.

"And that's all I did. However… A certain someone here overheard the gist of what Chrollo was trying to do and decided to tag along. I didn't _know_ he was planning to zap some stuff and burn the place down."

Leorio’s eyes widened as he turned his attention to the ghost, who was floating off to the side and pretending not to listen. 

_"Killua?!"_

"What?!" If ghosts could blush, Leorio was sure Killua would be at that very moment, "That douche bag deserves it!"

"Aw… Killua you _do_ like me."

"Shut _up,_ or that fancy bike of yours is next."

Leorio shook his head.

"Just so you know, I'm not condoning this…"

"You don't have to. Just be grateful."

"Right.. of course…" Leorio slumped against the counter, "What are friends for, if not to commit arson for each other?"

Leorio was pleased when Killua made no attempt to denounce their friendship. 

  
  
  


Later that night, when Kurapika climbed into bed with him, Leorio eagerly pulled him close and got the best night's sleep he'd had in months. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Share this fic with a pal you'd commit atrocities for.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio and Kurapika mend their relationship piece by piece and Leorio reaches a realization.

It had been a couple of weeks since Chrollo’s shop burned down, and everything was settling back to normal.

Well… as normal as things could get when you were dating a witch.

Kurapika and Leorio were slowly patching things back up. Leorio hadn't truly realized how much Chrollo’s mischief had affected his relationship until it was all over.

Leorio still felt weird about his… encounters with the incubus, and Kurapika was understanding- assuring Leorio that he would wait until he was comfortable enough to be intimate again.

And even though Leorio knew he meant it, it still made him feel a bit… inadequate as a partner.

  
  
  


Some nights he couldn't sleep, if he was by himself.

  
  


This was one of those nights.

Leorio sighed up at the ceiling over his bed. He picked up his phone for the millionth time and checked his social media…  _ again. _

His latest Instagram posts were still getting tons of interaction, which was no surprise- He'd finally convinced Kurapika to let him post a picture of them together. Naturally, it had caused an uproar. The private lives of youtubers always did.

The comments were a mixed bag. Some were positive, some were _ jealous,  _ and some were just transphobic. Leorio deleted those as quickly as he saw them.

He scrolled back up to the picture itself. Leorio was beaming at the camera with a flushed and slightly annoyed-looking Kurapika tucked into his arm. 

The image made something soft and warm settle in his chest.

  
  


Leorio was… nothing if not a show off. The main reason he’d pestered Kurapika into letting him post the picture in the first place was that he wanted  _ everybody  _ to see how drop-dead gorgeous his boyfriend was and be envious of him.

The second reason was, admittedly, to assuage the still remaining guilt he felt every time his thoughts wandered to Chrollo.

He wanted the warlock and the witch and the universe and  _ himself  _ all to know that Kurapika was his number one.

Of course… blasting your relationship on social media, as a person in his position, came with risks. Kurapika would be traced back to his shop and fans would seek him out. The lack of anonymity and breach of privacy were a concern, but Leorio, for the most part, had a good community behind him online.

And if anyone decided to do something untoward, Leorio was certain the witch could handle himself.

  
  
  


Leorio felt… lonely. He’d literally seen the witch only a few hours prior, but he was yearning like a teenager. 

Leorio looked at the time. 4:17 am.

He took one more look at the picture before exiting the app and pulling up his text conversation with Kurapika.

_ If I text him right now, will he answer? _

_ Probably not… _

_ If I call him though…. _

His thumb hit the call button before he could stop himself.

It took a few rings but he was greeted with Kurapika’s annoyed, sleep-ragged voice.

_ “Leorio? What’s-“  _ a yawn,  _ “What’s going on?” _

“Hey… I’m sorry to wake you up but…”

He paused, unsure of how to continue. Kurapika spoke up, sounding a bit more concerned than grumpy now.

_ “Leorio, what’s wrong?” _

“I.. uh.. I’m just having a hard time sleeping. And,” Leorio turned onto his side, “I miss you.”

_ “Oh, I see.” _

“I know you have to open the shop early tomorrow but is there any way I can convince you to ride down to the beach with me right now?”

There was a beat of silence before the witch spoke again,  _ “I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.” _

Leorio let out a sigh of relief, “Thanks, baby.”

  
  


The lights inside the shop went out as Leorio pulled up on his bike. He watched as Kurapika exited the shop and locked behind himself. As he approached, he realized Kurapika was wearing one of his old t-shirts and some  _ Paladiknight Paranormal  _ sweatpants. His hair was still tousled from bed and under the street lamps he was the most gorgeous thing Leorio had ever seen.

Leorio handed out his extra helmet to the witch and he took it but didn’t put it on right away. Instead, he flipped up Leorio’s visor and leaned in to peer into his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

Leorio sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for dragging you out of bed. I was just…”

“It’s alright. Come on, we’ve got an ocean to see.”

Kurapika flipped his visor back down and put on his own helmet before straddling the bike behind Leorio. The familiar press of Kurapika’s energy soothed him and he already felt better.

The long winding road to the shore was pretty much devoid of cars. It was peaceful and thrilling all at once. If Leorio had been alone, he would have sped up and raced the wind.

But he would never be that reckless with Kurapika on board.

  
  


They arrived at the beach just as the sun was barely poking up from the horizon. They took off their shoes and rolled up their pants and waddled through the thick sand until they found some large rocks to dangle their feet off of, into the water. It was a bit chilly, but neither of them minded.

Kurapika kicked his feet, leaning back on his hands and staring out over the water.

“So what’s on your mind?

“Huh?”

Kurapika turned and leveled him with a knowing stare.

“You brought me out to a beach at dawn, there’s gotta be something happening up there.”

Leorio sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I guess I just feel like… I feel like Chrollo and the incubus took something away from me and I’m trying to get it back.”

Kurapika’s expression became filled with shame.

“Leorio, I am  _ so sorry.” _

“For what?” The brunette furrowed his brows, perplexed. 

“If I hadn’t insisted on going to that shop when it opened-“

Leorio blinked.

“-None of this would have happened.”

_ He… blames himself for this? _

“It’s not your fault, how could you have known?”

“Still-“ Kurapika’s eyes filled with pain.

“Please, Kurapika,” Leorio took both of the blonde’s hands in his own and could feel the self-loathing radiating off of his palms, “don’t blame yourself.”

“I can’t help it,” he shook his head, “Something so  _ heinous-“ _

“Hey. It’s… it’s over now.”

Kurapika took a deep, steadying breath and let himself slump against Leorio’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry… I’m supposed to be the one comforting  _ you.  _ I’m not really very good at it.”

Leorio gathered him into his arms, resting his cheek against the top of his head.

“Just being here is enough, Sunshine,” he looked up at the steadily brightening sky, “what time do we need to head back to the city so you can open up?”

Kurapika shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. Pairo’s going to open up for me. We can stay as long as you like.”

Leorio’s heart clenched painfully in his chest and he had to look away to prevent himself from getting overly emotional. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Alright.”

  
  
  


“ _ Fuck.” _

Leorio hit himself in the forehead.

“What? What’s wrong?’ Kurapika looked up with a concerned expression, pausing the movie they were watching.

Kurapika had easily convinced Leorio to stay and hang out for the remainder of the day, neither of them willing to be apart really.

“I legitimately forgot I had classes today, I’m such a dumbass,” he sighed and covered his face with his hand. Kurapika took hold of his wrist and pulled it away.

“You’re not a dumbass, so don’t call yourself one. I’m the only one allowed to do that because I use it  _ affectionately,”  _ Leorio’s lips quirked up, “Now.. about class…”

Leorio swallowed.

“Why do you keep going if you’re miserable? And don’t say you aren’t-“ Leorio snapped his mouth shut, “The way you talk about school… it’s clear your heart really isn’t in it. So why?”

Leorio sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“I feel like I don’t have a choice. YouTube… could fizzle out any time. I need to make sure that when my fifteen minutes of fame ends, I can still make ends meet.”

“College isn’t the only way to do that though.”

Leorio scoffed.

“I’m serious. You think I got this shop by putting myself into student loan debt?”

“Uh…”

He didn’t know, actually. The thought had never occurred to him.

“I spent five years working odd jobs and building credit so that I could finance this place. I worked at a bookstore, I gave tarot readings, I worked at the Starbucks down the street. I even worked as a specimen collector at a sperm bank. That was the.. oddest job. By far.”

“Ohhhhh so that’s how you came up with the name for the place!”

“Exactly,” he grinned, “It took a lot of unconventional twists and turns, but I eventually got to where I wanted to be. You will too.”

Leorio tucked a lock of hair behind Kurapika’s ear and traced the tattoo beneath it with his thumb.

“Well… when you put it like that…”

“How much longer until the end of the semester?”

“A couple weeks.”

Kurapika nodded and hummed.

“If you don’t feel motivated by the end of the semester then I suggest not going back for the next one.”

Leorio mulled it over in his brain before nodding.

“Fine… Nana is going to kill me though.”

“She loves you, I’m sure she’d understand.”

“Hmm… maybe…”

Leorio turned and dragged Kurapika down with him, laying along the length of the couch. Kurapika scooted forward and buried his face into his neck. The lay there, content, for several minutes, until something  _ changed. _

Leorio didn’t know what set Kurapika off- whether it was the gentle caress down his spine, the playful squeeze to his ass, or simply the way Leorio groaned when Kurapika’s nose brushed a sensitive spot on his neck- but suddenly the energy radiating off the witch became heady with arousal.

“Kurap-“

“Sh-shut up. Ignore it. It’ll go away,” Leorio couldn’t see his face, but could tell from the hot press of his cheek against his throat that he was embarrassed.

“Maybe I don’t want it to go away.”

“Leorio, don’t-“ Leorio’s hands slid down the back of the blonde’s sweatpants and squeezed his ass, drawing a sigh from his lips, “Leorio don’t do that, just let it go away, I can handle it-“

Leorio paused to take stock of how he was feeling. Kurapika was pressed so snugly against him, squirming a bit. He was biting his lip and looking up at him so sweetly.

For the first time in a while, the idea of fucking Kurapika didn’t seem like a chore. He pressed the blonde’s hips down into his own and hummed as his dick twitched in interest.

“It’s okay baby,” he quickly flipped their positions and he hovered over Kurapika, a hand sliding up his shirt, “Let me?”

“If you’re sure,” Kurapika’s concerned expression faded as Leorio leaned in and mouthed at his neck.

"I'm  _ sure,"  _ Leorio murmured before dragging his teeth along Kurapika’s earlobe and the studs adorning it. A shudder went through the witch and he moaned breathlessly.

Kurapika’s hands slipped under Leorio’s shirt and stroked over his abs, pausing for a squeeze when he reached his pecs. Leorio’s stomach twisted at the smug glint in the blonde’s eyes.

Leorio sat back and pulled his shirt over his head. Heat flooded his neck and chest as Kurapika openly ogled him. 

He pulled the shirt off of Kurapika next and leaned in to mark up his chest with his mouth, his fingers lightly tracing over his belly to make him jump.

Kurapika suddenly grabbed his head and brought him back up so they were face to face. He tilted his head and kissed Leorio with such heat and longing that it made him dizzy.

Leorio stood reluctantly and gathered Kurapika into his arms. He took the short walk to the bed and gently sat him down. He kissed him one more time before dropping to the floor and taking the rest of Kurapika’s clothes with him.

Leorio involuntarily licked his lips as he watched the witch spread his thighs and lean back on his elbows. He scooted close, letting Kurapika’s legs hang over his shoulders.

He pressed a kiss to the crook of his knee and placed a trail of bruises all the way to the crease of his thigh. The further up he went and the harder he sucked, the more the witch moaned and trembled.

He repeated the process on the other leg and by the time he reached the apex of his thighs again, Kurapika was panting and his folds were flushed and swollen and begging for attention. 

Leorio adjusted the way Kurapika was sitting on the edge of the bed before delving in for a taste. 

Kurapika let out a high whine and fell flat against the mattress, one hand grabbing a fistful of Leorio’s hair.

The noises he was making were going straight to Leorio's dick. He eagerly traced around his entrance with the tip of his tongue, smirking at the groan of frustration that fell from his lips. 

He flicked his tongue over his clit before sucking it into his mouth. He used his fingers to spread him further apart and took the time to suck and prod at every sensitive spot he had memorized. 

_ "Leorio-"  _ Kurapika squirmed, getting wetter by the second. 

The brunette sealed his lips around Kurapika’s entrance and slurped obscenely, nose brushing his sensitive clit. 

Kurapika was arching his back, rolling his hips against his face desperately. When he finally slid his tongue inside him and swirled it around, Kurapika tugged on his hair and whimpered. 

"Yes, _yes_ _Leorio! Fuck,_ you're doing so good, I-"

Leorio moaned at the praise, the vibrations making the witch dig his heels into Leorio's shoulders.

Leorio added two fingers into the mix, pumping and crooking them just right to make Kurapika babble incoherently.

He suddenly stiffened and pushed Leorio away, who looked up at him, face slick and confused.

"Baby?"

"Want to… cum on your cock," he squirmed, pressing his thighs together, "Missed it so much,  _ please-" _

_ Fuck. _

This desperate, mewling, mess of a Kurapika was different from the bossy, commandeering one that he usually saw in the bedroom. It still ignited that same desperate need to please, though, and he quickly rose to his feet and leaned over to kiss him hungrily.

Their tongues slid together messily and Kurapika hummed as Leorio stroked his thumb over the tattoo on his hip. His hands ran up the sides of Leorio’s neck, leaving trails of tingling energy in their wake.

Leorio shoved off the rest of his clothes and hissed as he pressed against Kurapika’s wet heat. He leaned back over and kissed the unmarked side of his neck.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," Kurapika sighed as he nipped and nibbled at his jaw, "Let me make it up to you."

  
  


Leorio stood back up and yanked Kurapika’s legs up over his shoulders, so his ass was off the bed completely. Kurapika’s hands fisted in the sheets and he bit his lip as Leorio slowly filled him up.

" _ Annhh, f-fuck,”  _ Kurapika tossed his head from side to side, hair flying, “So full  _ so full, I-“ _

Leorio groaned, resting his cheek against Kurapika’s leg as he slowly pulled out and slid back in. Kurapika’s walls fluttered around him and he let out a string of curses.

The witch looked so good beneath Leorio like this, flushed down to his navel with bruises and stubble burn all over his thighs and his cunt stretched around Leorio’s cock.

One particular squeeze almost sent Leorio over the edge right there and he cursed, going still to regain some self-control.

_ “No no no, please don’t stop please-“  _ The look in Kurapika’s eyes was wild and desperate and a bit teary.

“Baby I can’t-“

“It’s okay, it’s-“ he rolled his hips with a satisfied moan, “I’m close too, we can take our time later just  _ please fill me up I need you to-“  _

Kurapika was cut off with a choked moan as Leorio slammed into him, unable to help himself with Kurapika talking like that.

_ You’re going to kill me. _

**_I’m going to die if you don’t cum inside me right now-_ **

**“** _ Shit, shit fuck-“  _ Leorio’s thrusts faltered. He picked up the pace again after taking a deep breath, and he reached down between them to tenderly stroke the witch’s clit.

Kurapika was pulled as taut as a bowstring now, limbs shaking as he tensed. Leorio knew he was trying his best to let leorio catch up to him and something about that gave Leorio palpitations.

All of a sudden their mental link was full of praises and Leorio groaned, drilling into Kurapika with vigor.

**_You’re so good to me, Leorio, so good._ **

**_No one makes me feel like this._ **

**_You fit inside me so perfectly, like a puzzle piece._ **

**_Missed this so much, missed you so much-_ **

**_Yes, that’s it, come on, come on I need you to-_ **

Leorio let out a guttural moan as the dam finally broke and his hips stuttered and he pressed as deep as he could and gave Kurapika exactly what he wanted.

Kurapika’s eyes rolled back and his mouth opened around a silent scream. He grabbed for Leorio who shifted his legs off his shoulders and leaned down to press flush against him. Kurapika wrapped his arms and legs around him tight as his orgasm overwhelmed him. 

Leorio fucked into him until they were both spent, licking into his mouth. He tried to pull out but Kurapika’s heels dug into his lower back and kept him inside. Instead, he carefully grabbed him by the hips and scooted them further onto the bed so they could lay comfortably.

He nuzzled into the blonde’s neck and hummed at the residual pulse of his walls around his cock. He could feel his release leaking from the seam of where they were still connected.

Kurapika was still panting, his eyes heavily lidded as he reached up to pet Leorio’s hair.

**_Are you okay?_ **

Leorio pulled back to look into his eyes. He took a moment to assess himself and nodded.

_ I’m fine, I feel great actually. _

Kurapika’s lips quirked up into a smile.

**_I’m glad._ **

Leorio felt an unbearable warmth settle in his chest. He knew what it meant, but it wasn’t the right time to voice it. 

  
  


Not yet.

  
  
  



	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was meant to be fluff and plot set up but it turned into porn oops 😬😅

Leorio and Kurapika were chatting at the counter in the shop on a slow afternoon. It was the Friday before the last week of the semester, and Leorio had just finished up his last round of finals.

They were enjoying the peace and quiet, bantering flirtatiously, when Gon suddenly burst in, wild-eyed and excited.

“Where’s Killua?!’

“Gon what the hell-“

“This is super important, please tell me he’s around?!”

Leorio shared a look with Kurapika and the blonde shook his head.

“I haven’t seen him today.”

Gon visibly deflated.

Leorio walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s going on, buddy?”

“I found Killua’s sister. She’s in a lower grade at my school.”

Leorio’s jaw dropped and Kurapika gasped.

“Are you completely  _ sure?  _ I’d hate to get his hopes up,” his brows furrowed in worry.

Gon nodded aggressively, “I’m positive. Her name is Alluka Zoldyck, right? That’s her.”

Leorio ran his fingers through his hair and looked over his shoulder at a bewildered Kurapika.

“Well… This is great! He’s been looking so hard for her.”

“Gon, did you speak to her?” Kurapika came out from behind the counter, arms crossed and brows furrowed.

“No, not yet. I wanted to tell Killua first.”

“Wanted to tell Killua  _ what  _ first?” Came a disembodied voice. Killua slowly manifested next to Gon, arms crossed.

“I found her!” Gon practically hopped from foot to foot, “I found Alluka!”

Killua’s eyes widened and he seemed to lose his grasp on his manifestation for a moment before it crackled back to normalcy.

“You… You found her?”

“Yeah! She goes to my school!”

Kurapika tugged on Leorio’s sleeve and nodded his head towards the doorway into the back room. Leorio caught on and nodded,following him to the back and up the stairs.

Leorio flopped down on the couch while Kurapika seemed to pace, a thoughtful hand on his chin.

“What’s got you winding knots in the floor?”

The witch stopped and looked up.

“I’m just worried.”

Leorio’s brow arched, “Worried about what? Killua?”

“No,” he shook his head, crossing his arms again, “About  _ you.  _ And Gon, but especially you.”

“Wh- but why?”

Kurapika sat down next to Leorio and took one of his hands, turning it over to read the lines in his palm.

“I don't care if you say he gets on your nerves. You've become so attached. But...Killua’s goal is to reunite with his sister and get closure. You’re the ghost hunter.. you know what happens after that.”

_ Oh... _

Something heavy and somber sank to the pit of his stomach.

“He’ll… He’ll cross over…”

Kurapika nodded, “Most likely, yes.”

“W-Well that’s a good thing, right? Kid deserves to move on and not be trapped here…” he turned to look the other direction, clearing his throat.

Kurapika squeezed his hand, urging him to look back.

“Hey, it’s  _ okay _ . I’ll miss him too.”

Leorio nodded before taking back his hand and slapping his own cheeks.

“Alright, no more gloom and doom. We’ve got to be happy for him.” 

Kurapika laid his head against his shoulder and sighed. Leorio tried his best to ignore his own melancholy thoughts.

  
  
  
  
  


Zepile had a new fling.

Leorio only found this out by being awakened in the dead of night by said-fling’s ridiculous volume of moaning coming from across the hall. He grumbled and turned over, shoving one of his pillows over his head and trying to go back to sleep.

It only got louder.

_ Are you fucking kidding me? _

He threw the pillow off of himself and got up, rubbing at his eyes furiously. He threw on some sweats and a shirt, grabbed his phone and keys and wallet, and  _ left. _

  
  


Leorio didn’t have a key to the shop. He didn’t need one. Kurapika had cast a charm on it, so that anyone with his sole permission could enter at will. It was convenient.

He quietly made his way through the dark store and up the stairs. Kurapika’s apartment was dimly lit by the string of lights above the window and bed, casting a dull glow on the bundle of blankets there.

Leorio stifled a yawn as he kicked off his shoes and peeled off his clothes. 

When he got to the bed he gingerly untucked the blankets from around the sleeping witch and got in. He curled around Kurapika, burying his face in his hair.

Kurapika stirred and Leorio cursed, having tried to be as stealthy as possible to not to wake him.

“Mmgh.. Leorio?”

“Yeah, just me Sunshine. I’ll explain tomorrow, you can go back to sleep.”

The blonde turned over and tangled their legs together, pressing as close as he could.

“ _Mmm_ _kay.”_

__ It was scarcely a minute later when the witch began to snore. Unlike the noise at home, Kurapika’s snores lulled him to sleep.

  
  


Leorio stirred as slender fingers weaved through his hair. He cracked one eye open and was met with the softest gaze he’d ever seen on Kurapika’s face. The morning light streaming in from the window cast a halo on his hair and the side of his face, making him appear even more otherworldly than he already was.

He noticed he'd been caught staring and flushed. 

"Good morning."

Leorio opened his other eye, smiling.

"Hey there."

"Wanna tell me why you crawled into bed with me in the middle of the night?"

Leorio snorted, turning and pulling Kurapika on top of himself. The witch folded his arms and rested his head on them.

"Zepile’s new girl woke me up."

Kurapika arched a brow in confusion.

"She's a loud one."

The blonde seemed to connect the dots and nodded with a sigh.

"He could have warned you so you could have come here in the first place."

"Yeah, well. Zep is a great friend and an excellent social media manager but as for being a good roommate, he leaves quite a bit to be desired."

"We could always return the favor and give him a taste of his own medicine," the dangerous glint in the blonde’s eyes made Leorio gulp.

"As satisfying as that would be," he smirked, cupping Kurapika’s cheek in his hand, "I kinda like being the only one to hear you like that."

Kurapika bit his lip, flush extending down past the collar of the shirt he was wearing. 

"Are you certain?" The witch averted his gaze towards the window, "Because I'm pretty sure people on the street can hear me sometimes."

Leorio chuckled, a hand sliding down Kurapika’s back and settling on his ass.

_ "I just like making you feel good,"  _ he licked his lips, ears burning.

"Good," Kurapika looked back at him, eyes sultry and lidded, "Because you do  _ such a good job." _

Leorio choked on his own breath, the praise sending a jolt straight to his groin.

_ How does he keep turning the tables like that?! _

Kurapika had the nerve to  _ giggle. _ He yelped as Leorio pinched him on the butt.

"You better knock that shit off."

"But  _ Leorio,"  _ Kurapika smirked, sitting up and shifting to straddle one of the ghost hunter’s muscular thighs, "You treat me so sweet. You always make me feel so good."

"Kurapika, I-"

The witch tugged his shirt over his head and awkwardly shoved off his boxers. He hummed as he pressed his bare flesh to Leorio's thigh. 

"You're such a good boy Leorio," Kurapika’s smirk turned positively  _ menacing _ as his hand slid up his abs and rested over a firm pectoral muscle, "I wonder how much your body just naturally likes to please me."

Leorio jolted as Kurapika flicked his nipple.

"Ngh, what do you mean?"

"I bet you can cum without me touching your dick."

_ Oh. Oh no. Oh fuck shit fuck fuck fuck- _

"K- Kurapika I don't think-"

The witch pinched his nipple and his back arched. An embarrassing keen burst from his lips. 

"I didn't realize how sensitive you were here… I should pay more attention to them."

Kurapika tucked his hair behind his ears and leaned forward, licking a broad stripe over it. Leorio moaned and closed his eyes, laying his head back down on the pillows.

Kurapika’s mouth lavished Leorio’s chest with attention, after a while Leorio realized that the witch was rubbing himself against his thigh. He could feel the slick slide against his skin and he groaned loudly. 

**_I'm going to use you like a toy, you like that, don't you?_ **

Leorio let out a string of curses, bucking his hips to no avail. He shivered as Kurapika’s teeth lightly scraped over the pebbled bud of his nipple.

Leorio hissed when he sucked harshly, his cock hard and begging for attention.

Kurapika let out a sigh as he rocked his hips, rubbing off on him like a horny cat.

Leorio settled a hand on Kurapika’s thigh and it was quickly shoved between his legs. He groaned, slipping a finger into him and rubbing his clit with his thumb.

He was so hot and slick inside and the noises he was making were driving Leorio nuts.

Kurapika's mouth latched onto his neck and he moaned, tilting his head to give him better access. He slid another finger into him and nearly lost his shit when Kurapika began to unabashedly ride his fingers. 

He pulled away from marking up his throat to toss his head back, squeezing his forearm. 

**_Your fingers are so long and thick, they feel so good. So perfect, just like the rest of you._ **

Leorio’s already flushed skin heated further, his cock dribbling precum against his stomach. He bucked into empty air, fingers curling just right inside the witch to make him gasp.

_ Kurapika you're gonna kill me- _

He heard Kurapika laugh around a moan and the coil in his belly tightened. One of the blonde’s hands stroked his stubbly jaw.

**_So handsome, you're so sexy- I'm so l-lucky._ **

Kurapika was stroking Leorio's ego like it was his dick and getting much the same desired effect. 

The witch’s hand moved down and cupped Leorio’s throat for a moment, making his breath hitch, before sliding down his torso, his energy buzzing through Leorio’s skin. His hand stopped on his lower belly, right above his dick, and the buzzing intensified. The muscles in his thighs twitched and his eyes rolled back.

His hand was  _ so close  _ to where he needed it. It would also be so easy to just reach out himself and just get on with it, but he fisted the sheets in his free hand and gritted his teeth.

**_"_ ** _ Leorio,"  _ Kurapika moaned loudly, rocking his hips against his hand faster.

_ "Baby I- nnngh,"  _ he bit his lip so hard he could taste copper in his mouth. 

He felt Kurapika tighten around his fingers. 

**_You're going to come for me, aren't you?_ **

_ Baby I can't- _

**_Yes you can, come on I know you don't want to disappoint me._ **

Leorio let out a string of expletives as Kurapika’s painted nails dug into the skin of his belly.

Kurapika grinded down against his fingers and let out a high-pitched whine as he came. Leorio watched as pleasure surged through him and he suddenly realized that  _ he could feel it too, _ pouring into him from the hand on his stomach.

Leorio gasped, slammed his fist against the mattress and came so hard he nearly blacked out.

Kurapika laid down against him, mumbling praises and petting his cheek.

Leorio opened his eyes in time to watch the witch scoop up some of the cum that had spilled over his abs and lick it off his fingers. He groaned and threw an arm over his face. Kurapika pushed his arm away and kissed him sweetly.

"Someday you and your dirty tricks are going to end me."

"I think you can handle it," Kurapika hummed, looking quite pleased with himself.

Leorio rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the grin that came over his face. 

Kurapika slowly stood and stretched. 

"I'm going to warm up the shower."

"Mmkay, I'll be there in a minute."

Kurapika paused at the bathroom door and looked back at him. 

"Oh by the way, you're phone buzzed a couple times."

Leorio sat up slowly and leaned over the side of the bed to pick his phone up off the floor. He opened his messages as he heard the sound of the water starting, rolling his sore wrist. 

  
  
  


**From: Pyon**

**Hey Leo! I'm back in town for a while!**

**We should catch up! 🐰**

  
  


Leorio’s brows arched in surprise.

  
  


**To: Pyon**

**Well hey! Welcome back! Let me know when you're free!**

  
  


_ Now that's a surprise… I wonder what she wants.  _

"Leorio?" Kurapika poked his head out of the bathroom.

"Coming, Sunshine," he sat his phone down and tried not to think about the anxiety curling in his stomach. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing about this goes the way Leorio wanted it to.

"What do you think she wants?"

"Why do you assume Pyon wants something?" Leorio shoved his wallet and phone in his pocket. 

"I don't know," Pietro shrugged, spinning around in Leorio's office chair, "It's just kinda weird, right?"

"Is it?"

"Kinda," Zepile crossed his arms, leaning back against the closet door, "You don't think she's…"

Leorio arched a brow in confusion before his eyes widened comically. 

"No no no, absolutely  _ not. _ We were always careful. I don't take chances with that shit."

Zepile and Pietro shared a look. 

"You know it's not completely effective though, right?" Pietro sighed, "there's still a chance-"

"Fuck…"

"If she is, what are you going to do?" Zepile arched a brow, "What are you going to tell  _ Kurapika _ ?"

"Oh god I don't fucking know," Leorio scrubbed his hands over his face, "One crisis at a time, please."

"Does he even know about your little coffee date with Pyon?"

"He knows I'm having coffee and catching up with a friend, yeah."

"Leorio…" Pietro sighed and shook his head. 

"What?!"

"Please don't make my boyfriend turn you into cat food."

  
  
  


Leorio met Pyon at a coffee shop across town. She was already there waiting at a table in the corner. Leorio grabbed himself a drink and joined her, trying to calm his nerves. 

"Hey stranger!"

"Leorio! Hey it's so good to see you!" Her strawberry blonde curls bounced around her face as she hopped up to give him a hug. 

They both sat down and Leorio folded his hands on the table awkwardly.

"So, uh, how's the Netherlands?"

"Oh Leorio it's  _ gorgeous, _ you should fly out some time. I admit I've really been too busy to enjoy it though. I signed on with a modeling agency."

"No way, that's  _ awesome,"  _ Leorio grinned, "I'm really happy for you. So is YouTube taking a back seat now, or?"

"Not really, I've just had to hire on more editors and assistants to keep everything running smoothly. But enough about me!"

She leaned over the table, smirking, "Tell me all about your new boyfriend."

Leorio blinked in surprise.

"Oh, you know about him?"

"Of course, silly! I saw your pictures with him on Instagram. He's gorgeous!"

Leorio chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as his cheeks warmed.

"Yeah, he certainly is."

"Sooooo don't be stingy, give me details. What's his name? What does he do?"

Leorio took a sip of his coffee and collected his thoughts. 

"His name is Kurapika, he owns the local occult shop."

"Ooohhh is he a witch?"

"Yeah," Leorio smirked, "He's pretty cool "

"Oh how  _ cute _ . What a spooky couple you make!"

"Haha, yeah I guess you're right."

"Think he could make me a love potion to attract handsome foreign men?"

"Absolutely," Leorio laughed, "I'll put in an order for you."

Pyon laughed and shook her head. 

"I'm glad you're happy, Leorio. I felt…" Pyon sighed and sat back, staring into her coffee cup, "I felt awful for just up and leaving you like that. I still don't know what possessed me to go like that…"

_ I do… _

"It's okay, Py, no hard feelings."

She nodded and gave a soft smile.

"Perhaps it was all for the best. You seem so happy now," she tilted her head, "You love him don't you?"

Heat crawled up Leorio’s neck and into his ears. He swallowed thickly and floundered for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah... Yes. I love him, I really do."

Saying it out loud was liberating in a way, like he'd set a bird free from a cage. It was out there in the universe now, acknowledged.

"Have you told him that yet?"

Leorio gave a nervous chuckle and shook his head.

"Nah, I've been a chicken shit about it. Don't want to scare him off."

_ "Leorio." _

Pyon reached across the table and squeezed his hand.

"Tell him. If he's not ready to hear it, that's up for him to decide."

Leorio took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright. Yeah, okay I'll tell him."

There was something still bugging him though.

"So… was this really just a catch up meeting or was there something else on your mind?"

"Oh! Right!"

Leorio’s stomach clenched in apprehension.

"Did you maybe want to collaborate on a video while I'm in town?"

"What?" Leorio blinked and sat up ramrod straight, "that's it?! You mean you're  _ not pregnant _ ?!"

Pyon's eyes widened and she burst into laughter.

"Pregnant? Oh no, God no Leo," she covered her mouth with her hand, cheeks turning rosy, "Is that what you thought?"

"W-Well yeah," Leorio scratched at the stubble on his jaw.

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint, but  _ no,  _ I am not."

Leorio slumped over with a sigh of relief.

  
  
  
  


Leorio had showered, put on Kurapika’s favorite cologne, and made himself look pretty damn good if he did say so himself that night. 

He stopped by a store and bought a bottle of decent wine and a big bouquet and had worked up his nerve by the time he got to the shop.

His confidence shot right out of him as soon as he crossed the threshold into the apartment, though. The air was oppressive. Kurapika was in a foul mood.

"Baby?" He found the witch on the couch, curled into an angry ball and clutching his phone so hard his hand shook. 

Kurapika didn't bother looking up from his phone screen as Leorio came forward. He didn't meet his eyes as he turned the phone around either. 

"What the fuck is  _ this?" _

Leorio looked on the phone screen and saw that Kurapika had been looking at the picture of himself and Pyon that Pyon had posted on Instagram earlier. They were both flashing peace signs and the caption said  _ 'Look who I found!' _

"What's wrong? I told you I was going to get coffee with a friend."

"Yeah a  _ friend. _ Not an ex- _ girlfriend." _

"Kurapika-"

The witch snatched the phone back and tapped it a few times before shoving it back in his face. 

"Explain  _ this." _

Leorio cursed.

On the screen was another Instagram post from a fan. In the photo, Pyon was holding his hand on the table and Leorio was blushing. 

_ Shit. Fuck. _

"Okay, I'll admit, that does look incriminating. But I  _ swear,  _ it isn't what it looks like."

Kurapika dropped his phone and stood, stabbing an accusatory finger against Leorio's chest.

"Why would you even go out with your ex, Leorio? What’s your problem?"

The back of Leorio's neck heated and he felt the stirrings of agitation in his gut. 

"She was back in town, she wanted to catch up. I'm sorry, do I need your permission to hang out with my friends now?"

Kurapika’s eyes flashed dangerously.

"She is your  _ ex-girlfriend  _ Leorio. You didn't maybe think that that would bother me?!"

"Why would I? Until right now I thought you were level-headed!"

Kurapika's face turned red and his eyes were headed that way as well. 

"You- You really have some nerve."

He pushed past Leorio and walked to the other side of the room and Leorio followed.

"Kurapika I literally haven't done anything wrong, you're acting like an ass!"

Kurapika whipped around, jaw clenched.

"Why would you even give her the time of day? She left  _ you!" _

Leorio's nostrils flared and he raised his voice, fully losing his patience and his filter.

" _ You are the reason she left me, Kurapika! Or do you not remember that?!" _

Kurapika's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in bewilderment. He looked hurt and ashamed and Leorio regretted opening his mouth.

He wasn't able to dwell on that too long though because Kurapika’s pain turned into white-hot rage and the force of his energy pushed Leorio back.

His eyes were the brightest shade of red Leorio had ever seen and the witch was shaking so violently that he momentarily was worried that he was having a seizure. 

The room _itsel_ f- nay- the whole _shop_ began to shake and Leorio backed up further, bouquet and wine still in his hands.

" **Leave** ."

Leorio stood his ground and shook his head, even as fear soaked into his bones.

"No, not happening. We're going to talk this out like adults."

Leorio noticed that Kurapika's hands were balled into such tight fists that his nails had cut into his palms and blood was dripping onto the floor. 

" **Leorio. Leave. Now."**

The flowers in his hand and the plants hanging above his head and sitting on the counters all began to wilt. Leorio could hear the planters begin to crack.

" **Leorio please."** Kurapika seemed to really be struggling and Leorio felt sick, " **I don't want to hurt you."**

Leorio floundered for a minute before simply nodding and rushing out the door. 

Back on the street, he mounted his bike and looked up at Kurapika’s bedroom window. Lights were flashing and it looked like stuff was getting tossed around. 

Leorio's chest hurt.

  
  


When he got home he tossed the ruined bouquet in the trash and drank the bottle of wine himself. 


End file.
